The work „Marble Felt“ was created as part of the course „Form, Color and Painting“ and goes through a process that focuses on the exploration of surfaces and their structures, as well as digital and analog abstraction and the fallibility of this.
I started the work with an in-depth research of surfaces. Armed with my camera, I explored different surfaces every day on my way to college, to work and at home. My focus is particularly on marble, raffia and wood. These materials fascinate me because at first glance they appear to have a clear structure, but they turn out to be much more complex. On closer inspection, exciting shapes and patterns emerged for me.
In the next step, the photographs are imported into editing software. Transferring the natural forms into digital space allows me to abstract them by inverting, scaling, and correcting the tonal values. I aim to convey uncertainty to the viewer, as the natural forms are no longer immediately identifiable after digital processing. The forms and patterns suddenly appear in a completely new context.
When printing my digitally edited files, the „chance“ factor plays a decisive role. I decided to make the printouts on an ordinary household printer. The printer can only reproduce the complex file with errors, and this is precisely where I see a creative opportunity. Chance becomes an active player, as the printer abstracts the image again through its linear and faulty application of ink.
I decided to use felt-tip pens and highlighters for further processing. The felt-tip pens cause the printing paper to soften and fray. This gives the work a new tactile and visual surface. The highlighters also bring a new layer of color to the work due to their bright colors, which clearly stands out from the print. This physical intervention opens up an additional layer that goes beyond the original prints and presents a unique, hand-created texture.
High-resolution photographs of the analog medium are used to transfer the work back into the digital world. The photograph is again inserted into editing software to correct the color and image detail, as well as camera distortions. In the final step, the work is printed by a professional print shop in A2 on high-quality coated paper. This makes the abstract shapes and structures even more visible.
Overall, my work reflects not only an examination of surfaces but also an in-depth reflection on the creative process itself. As someone who usually prefers digital work, I have become aware of how exciting the collaboration of digital and analog working methods can be. By working on my prints, I left my comfort zone and got to know a new way of working. The connection between analog and digital working methods, as well as the emphasis on the haptic dimension, create a work that goes far beyond the superficial observation of materials.
