reclaiming the orient gereh chiniبازپس گیری شرق- گره چینی in collaboration with Michael Powell
alder wood
2022-2023

In collaboration with Michael Powell

The wooden screen window takes its shape from pixelating, blurring and then applying a threshold mask onto a traditional Persian latticework called "Gereh-chini", meaning arranged knots. Using digital tools, the original radial structure which is associated with islamic architecture becomes concealed and translated into something more reminiscent of QR code design, itself a tool for encoding.

There is a connection between digital architecture and the architecture of ancient Persia.  Both are cultural undercurrents hiding in plain sight and let us access a higher order of living and being.  By pixelating this modern Gereh-Chini* lattice window and embedding it into interactive code, we are not referencing divine inspiration so much as we emphasize the human ingenuity of science and aesthetics to persist through changes in power.

*Gereh-Chini (arrangement of knots in wood) is an early form of parametric design - a repeating pattern based on the number of folds in the initial geometry. The Gereh technique originated before Islam but is best known for ornamenting Islamic architecture and has been a dying art form since its height in the Qajar dynasty (1789-1925). Coincidentally, this period is also known for the European fascination with the Arts, women and resources of the Near East (Orientalism). This artwork attempts to reclaim and safeguard traditional craftwork by concealing what would have originally been star-like tessellations using digital tools while turning the design into an a-periodic design.

پنجره چوبی پرده‌ای شکل از پیکسل‌بندی، تار کردن و سپس اعمال یک ماسک آستانه بر روی شبکه سنتی ایرانی به نام "گره‌چینی" الهام گرفته شده است، که به معنای گره‌های مرتب شده است. با استفاده از ابزارهای دیجیتال، ساختار شعاعی اصلی که با معماری اسلامی مرتبط است، پنهان و به چیزی تبدیل می‌شود که بیشتر به طراحی کد QR شبیه است، که خود ابزاری برای رمزگذاری است.