Faux Florals is an interactive design tool, made in p5.js, that allows users to generate custom motifs based on pixel manipulation of flower photos.

With this tool and the corresponding adaptation for casting cement tiles, I aim to bridge the gap between digital design and analog application. This way individual, contemporary cement mosaics can be easily and accessibly designed.

A fundamental aspect of my Bachelor’s thesis was to research the traditional production of cement mosaics and learn how to make them myself, in order to develop my own creative adaptations. The manufacturing process for cement tiles differs fundamentally from the design of more common ceramic tiles. They are not printed or painted on afterwards. Instead, the design is already part of their production, as the motif is the tile’s first layer, cast from coloured cement. One stencil or mold equals one motif.

Applying the pixel display logic of digital design to the stencil used for pouring the motif, it is the shape of a grid containing 15 x 15 cells that can individually be filled in different colors. This way, with one stencil an endless multitude of images can be created instead of just one motif. The combination of these two techniques creates a mixed aesthetic. Blending the digital pixel look with the characteristics of natural pigments and the material properties of cement expands the artistic potential of traditional tile casting.

Graphic tool made with the p5.js library. Interactive pixel-manipulation on the basis of photos.

Made in Processing, the tool enables the sorting of pixels of photos according to color-value-thresholds that the user can set themself. The results are surprising and varying abstractions of images.

An exploration vampirism, sexual deviance, and opulence, focusing on the novella “Carmilla” by Sheridan Le Fanu. The design, influenced by blood and roses, found its form in silicone casting for lettering reminiscent of gravestone carvings.

The lettering reads:

„Dangerous woman ain’t looking for clout. Rapier in my hand i wanna hear you shout“

Exerpt from the poem „Dangerous Woman“ by I‘mDatingYourMom – All Poetry

The relief was inspired by the sculpture of Blessed Ludovica Albertoni by Bernini. Bernini’s work captures the pious woman in a moment of ecstatic divine vision, apparently with a sexualizing undertone.This duality of lust and religion, a nun portrayed through a male artist’s eyes, sparked my interest.