Computer manipulated ‘Grid’ format 2D imagery has been further explored and developed into geometric repeat and one-off surface patterns that envelop and define architectural structure. A continual investigation of my work is the translation of 2D to 3D and the physical transformations that computer driven technology can facilitate.
The Lightlines series of work was developed from digitally manipulating scanned images from my own personal archive of paintings and photographs. The content of the imagery takes its starting point from the investigative nature of the computer i.e. its ability to present the inner structure of an image, revealing by magnification a process which is usually unseen by the human eye. Infinity infers a space beyond human vision, suggestive of an outward action. Just as telescopes aid astronomers to look into outer space, computers conversely aid one to look into inner space. The very act of ‘looking in’ requires several clicks of a button; this process of magnification is what informs the work. The ‘infinity’ of my work is born out of a geometry of repetition. Each point of magnification reveals a stratification of infinite possibilities for abstracted colours and patterns. The internal illumination and pixelation of a digitised image leads to a visual aesthetic that deals with the fragmentation and varying intensities of light.
The action of repetition so essential to Fine Art printmaking is augmented through using the computer to modify and manipulate images from the macro to the micro scale. By investigating scale from macro to micro, the file size of the images ends up being very small, enlargement of the image is carefully recreated. The image is broken down into units that can then be re-assembled in either a precise or random order. This is where I see my work as being analogous to ‘musique concrete’ where natural sound is processed through electronic media.
These new images are printed/transferred into and onto a variety of materials including paper, aluminium, steel, stone, wood, acrylic and glass. Dynamics of scale also enables the imagery to be printed over extensive and diverse surfaces, allowing the emphasis to shift from ‘mass production’ to ‘mass customisation’.
“What makes Myfanwy’s use of the grid so intriguing is that whilst it is almost always a square grid, it’s geometry is usually punctuated by the inclusion of additional elements that either give a secondary definition to the grid, or achieve parity with it. The grid therefore, is never the predominant visual symbol, because its orthogonally is always punctuated by elements of quite another scale. In the three-dimensional constructions, the grid is treated almost as a cage that appears to fully embrace the geometry of what is inside it, but this is an ambiguous relationship, because the interior never fully follows the geometry of its enclosure, setting up dynamic tensions between what is anticipated and what actually exists. This gives the work an exciting perceptual originality, which makes it intriguing and significant.” Professor Andrew Stonyer, Artist and Reader in Fine Art. University of Gloucestershire, UK.
Is a precisely made installation exploiting the natural characteristics of wood. It plays on the perspective, scale and pattern of traditional parquet, creating a human, interactive and tactile connection to architectural surface and history. My explorations of surface design often include working with historic pattern; pattern enables my work to connect with previous and future generations. The geometry of form is also important both as modular surface and structural object. The installation creates a dialogue with the venue and sits within one of the triangular sections of the octagonal Halles des Chartrons. The triangular format is both a site-specific and universal geometric form. The installation pays homage to the exquisite flooring found in the Hotel Lalande, now known as the Museum of Decorative Arts in Bordeaux.