"The Point Attractor #1"

Mixed Media on Canvas, 24”x24”, 2007.

One of the main concepts of Chaos Theory is an attractor. An attractor is simply the characteristic behavior of a dynamical system changing in time. The point attractor is the simplest way to bring order out of chaos. It is a fixation on one desire or addiction to drugs, to alcohol, to success, or to some ideas. It leads to monotony, to misery, to depression, and very often to death. It is a single-minded attractor: black or white, good or bad, hate or love.

"The Cycle Attractor #2"

Mixed Media on Canvas, 24”x24”,2007.




To the group of periodic attractors belong a cycle attractor and a torus attractor. The cycle attractor has the ability to resist change. Both the point and the cycle attractors describe systems that are highly regular, and thus, predictable. Routine is the perfect life example for the cycle attractor: when we are attracted to two activities, we tend to oscillate between them (e.g., work and family). This state of life, when we are moving from one situation to another, fluctuating from one mood to another, and repeating the very same process again and again brings only dissatisfaction and suffering.

"The chaotic attractor #3"

Mixed Media on Canvas, 24”x24”,2007.

The chaotic attractor describes systems that are in a state of turbulence, such weather, violent river, brain activity, or our life dynamics. In general, the chaotic attractors can take an infinite number of different forms. Their patterns are fantastic, complex maps that capture the interplay between stability and change in a system. Essentially, a chaotic attractor is a process that unfolds through the complex interactions between elements in a system. It is through a pattern of folding and stretching that the structure of the chaotic attractor emerges.

Krystyna Laycraft, Physicist/Artist


Center for Chaos Studies, Nanton, Alberta, Canada

"During the early eighties I worked as a physicist on some nonlinear phenomena in astrophysics. This was a time when chaos theory, nonlinear dynamics, fractals, and self-organization were widely discussed and applied to a variety of physical, chemical, and mathematical problems. Now, almost a quarter of a century later, I apply Chaos theory to art and psychology. Through two years (2006-2007) I created the series of paintings based on the main concepts of Chaos theory like the bifurcation points and attractors. Chaotic dynamics of human life have their own evolutionary trajectories, described by attractors. In my work, I examine peoples’ actions which are usually described by the point, cycle or chaotic attractors. The mixed media techniques gave me freedom and flexibility to express my ideas."