Recolored Alhambra Tiles

Material used: Printed aluminium plates (Dibon)

The 14th century muslim Alhambra tile tessellations of Granada, Spain, were repeatedly studied by MC Escher in 1922 and 1936 and enormously influenced his art, due to their numerous subtle geometric solutions. He stated, “Filling two-dimensional planes has become a real mania to which I have become addicted and from which I sometimes find it hard to tear myself away.” I entered that rabbit hole. The Alhambra color selections were limited by available reagents at the time and have been discolored by the strong Spanish sun. I decided to take my favorite motifs and recolor them. At the same time, I was engaged in trying to deconstruct the geometric core of both Muslim designs and Gothic tracery windows. They have identical geometrical roots of preexisting intersections, but have very different outcomes.