1-116 is a single piece made up of 116 smaller works. Each of those works was created in accordance with a set of rules.
The concept for each piece begins with a randomly chosen number from one to 116 inclusive, and the piece must be conceived and executed in a single day. The first forty-nine paintings were painted over seven weeks in 2006, with numbers chosen by friends of the artist. The remaining sixty-seven numbers were painted in 2008, with numbers chosen randomly by a computer program. This reflected a change in the artist's circumstances, as more time was being spent at work, running around after computers, than was spent mixing with friends.
The paintings are not strict representations of the starting numbers. Rather, the number is just the first link in a chain of thought. Each piece should stand on its own. Though the artist prefers viewers impose their own meaning on his work, most people seem to like to have the paintings explained to them. As a compromise, a few paintings in this online gallery have full explanations of the concepts behind them. They may help the viewer understand the depth of the work, and take more from it.
Every piece is painted or mounted on a 29 x 29cm square of hardboard. This, and the far more limiting constraints of time, have a considerable effect on the work. Some days ideas come slowly, other days real life interferes, leaving very little time to work. Some paintings come out well, others come out badly, but they all have to go into the final work, which becomes a document of itself.
1 -- 116 was originally inspired by the periodic table of the elements, and is intended to be exhibited with the boards laid out in such an arrangement.