Transition  

Bern, July 2015

UK, January 2016

 

This project represents a non-traditional attempt to build a miniature artificial environment that seeks and creates experimental drawings. With microscopic techniques, ink gel was injected into tiny blocks of solid ice in a custom-made chamber. This process allowed us to create some artistic sketches on the inner surface of ice blocks. With our innovative technique we were able to control the ink distribution rate inside the ice blocks, and then we have already recorded ink paths as artistic sketches with microscopic recording processes. The experiment aimed to answer three questions: can we reinterpret the contemporary art of drawing through some contemporary concepts that deal with the art of drawing as an interactive process? How can we examine the effects of the technological aspects and scientific procedures on the interactive processes in contemporary experimental drawings? To what extent can this experiment contribute to redefining a standard core in twenty-first-century aesthetics? This case study hopes to enhance our understanding of the conceptual content of some contemporary experimental drawings, not only technically, but also by linking our results to leading artworks that have already had a considerable impact on a wide range of artistic trends.

 

Resources:

"In his experiments entitled “Transition”, Diaa Ahmedien focuses on an ‘artificial’ method of drawing production, monitoring a series of drawings created spontaneously, emulated in a   scientific, set-up environment. Rather than being controlled and fixed, the drawing experiments performed in the project become traces of detailed movements, subtle changes and mark fluctuations. The drawings result from and sum-up a set of physical processes (depending on time, pressure, humidity, etc.), revealing their interaction at play. Such reactions refer to the materiality of drawing translated visually – a ‘live’ documentary of creating form. In considering the act of drawing as an interactive process, Diaa Ahmedien questions the content and value of both the process of drawing and its end product"  (Ionascu and Rohr, 2016). 

​

References

 

• Ahmedien, D.  A.  M.  (2016), “Designing an artificial environment to create contemporary experimental drawings: An analytical and experimental study”, Journal of Drawing: Research, Theory, Practice, Intellect Ltd, 1: 1, pp. 79–96. doi: 10.1386/drtp.1.1.79_1

​

• Ionascu, A. and Rohr, D. (2016) ‘Drawing now’, Drawing: Research, Theory, Practice, 1(1), pp. 3–16. doi: 10.1386/drtp.1.1.3_2. 

​

• http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Article,id=20576/

​

• http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-Article,id=20579/

​

• Tages: Ice block, Micro artificial chamber, Microscopic recording, Video editing.