Dutch-Brazilian artist Rafaël Rozendaal creates a hallucinogenic colour experience with his woven wall hanging series ‘Abstract Browsing’.
Rozendaal has been transforming computer-generated images into brightly coloured fabrics at the TextielLab since 2014. In his woven panels, he translates internet pages, such as those found on Google and Twitter, into blocks of colour using a plug-in Chrome browser. The code changes the information presented so that images, ads and texts become sections of solid colour. In this way, the internet provides the basis for abstract compositions that reveal the underlying structure of websites.
Rozendaal collected thousands of screenshots that the Chrome browser had translated into abstract compositions. He then selected a number of these to turn into wall hangings in the TextielLab. Mounted on a frame, the works are a textile version of abstract art.
Rozendaal experimented with different colour combinations to find the most vibrant shades. The combination of magenta and fluorescent orange, for instance, produced a much more intense colour than the two colours on their own.
The use of yarns of different thicknesses created an appealing moiré effect. This is comparable to taking a photo of a screen, which appears as patterns in the image. Rozendaal wanted to incorporate this optical experience of the screen in the tapestry. The biggest challenge for the Product Developer was to make really sharp transitions between the colour blocks.
Rozendaal (1980) is based in New York and is known for his internet art and unusual use of colour and light. His work has received global attention. It has been displayed on Times Square in New York, for instance, in the Centre Pompidou in Paris and at Biennale in Venice.
