Carpetdiem - 1001 Magic Carpets

The Carpetdiem - 1001 Magic Carpet Collection is a mesmerizing showcase of the intersection between generative and traditional art. The collection, created by the new media artist Orkhan Mammadov using Processing p5.js, is based on the fractal Sierpiński carpet, a design concept first put forth by the Polish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński. This mathematical formula subdivides the shape of the equilateral square, again and again, making smaller copies of itself. The connection between mathematics and beauty is at the core of Orkhan Mammadov’s work. This piece depicts a digital version of a carpet formulated from an algorithm devised by Mammadov and derived from Sierpiński. The result is an automated production of not one carpet pattern but infinite possibilities of the same carpet, each time with a different aesthetic and with no possibility of repetition.

LIVING ON ETHEREUM WHICH UNFOLDS LIKE A MAGIC CARPET

The ubiquitous precision of the structures of the natural world has mystified and enchanted scientists for centuries. The Fibonacci sequence and the golden ratio (phi), which accounts for the proportions of almost every living organism and natural phenomenon helped to unravel that mystery but its effect is no less entrancing when experienced. The human eye finds so much pleasure within formations built around these mathematical formulas that even the definition of beauty comes directly from them. It is within this mysticism that Mammadov finds his foundation. His work stems from a continued effort to utilize the wonders of mathematics to digitize the craftsmanship of his home country: Azerbaijan. Carpet weaving and carpet making carry with it a long tradition in Azerbaijan where the patterns have specific meaning and spiritual significance. By translating the ancient patterns into a digital code that generates a continuously new artwork fuses history with contemporary technology that suits the automated era in which we live. Mammadov is an intergenerational artist. He stands at the crest of the future whilst cherishing and heralding his past. The success of his work exists in this chasm between two planes of existence, which he managed to straddle using fractal geometry, a universally compelling magic recipe.