Cover: © zancan, Sheltered Landscapes, 2023
There is a certain timelessness about them, where the remains of ancient civilizations encounter the graphic elements of the digital era. The tension between the digital architecture, at times rigid and clearly identifiable through monochromatic lines and shapes, confirms the coexistence as well as the interference of humanity with the natural world.
For Sheltered Landscapes, the artist zancan has chosen to compose a naturalistic landscape coded along sixteen monitors. Its specificity is given by the arrangement of the work itself, which reflects the artist’s desire to reconsider his whole concept of composition, adding a narrative dimension to the work and using the length of the tunnel as a timeline. Every part of the work is continued on the screen that follows, creating a constantly evolving landscape as the viewer walks through the gallery.
The works exhibited are the culmination of two years of plotting algorithms, and were created by the artist to represent nature through the medium of digital programming code. Michaël Zancan’s new work follows one of his earlier works, Kumono Shingou, a collection of one hundred generative works inspired by Japanese culture. Transposing the setting to Italy, he introduces elements of Florentine architecture into the process of artistic design, albeit in a minimalist and highly stylized format, with local arboreal species typical of Tuscan landscapes. The intent of this work is not realism, or naturalistic accuracy, but rather a mixture of elements from different cultures testifying to the artist’s experience of the world seen through his works. There is a certain timelessness about them, where the remains of ancient civilizations encounter the graphic elements of the digital era.
