The Don of Data

Inside the experimental mind of a self-taught programmer who turns facts and figures into analytical art.

Photos by Emon Hassan

When talking, he uses his hands, produces uncommon sounds and doodles mechanically. It all happens in his head. Jer Thorp hates putting a label on what he does: artist, programmer, designer, researcher; he is a little bit of each and not quite any of them all at the same time. What he does, in his own words, is "experimental weird stuff."

Thorp’s work lies somewhere at the intersection of science, art, and design. His main material is data. He transforms information sets and series of numbers into something comprehensible and artistic. In geek lingo: data visualization.