Generative expressionism meets hyper-textured printmaking in a new series by Michael Kozlowski (mpkoz).
Written entirely in GLSL and JavaScript, Mecha is centred on synthesised texture - procedurally, thematically and physically. It represents the final evolution of a photoreal painting algorithm mpkoz started developing two years ago.
“The narrative behind Mecha is an exercise in maximalism. I wanted to push my technical skills, the complexity of the outputs, and the technology used to print them, to their limit.”
In doing so, Mecha became a visual reflection of this process: a series of complex, tactile compositions each replicating physicality, consistency, light and shadow to an uncanny level. It is the first body of work that mpkoz has created in which the technical processes used to create the artwork directly influence the visual composition of the outputs.
This narrative of maximalism extends into the printing process. The artist worked closely with the printmakers at Make-Ready in London for over a year, perfecting a cutting-edge technique to physically reproduce the simulated depth of Mecha’s outputs.
Each artwork is printed with up to 31 layers of UV-cured ink on an aluminium plate – resulting in a variable build-up of texture, highlighting the level of detail present in the algorithmic outputs and bringing them to life in a way that simply isn’t possible on a digital display.
