Camino Digital
Graduation project at the DogTime program of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy
The Beginning
In an era saturated with images, their sheer abundance often strips them of meaning and relevance. Camino Digital is an artistic collaboration between me and the system Annivera, exploring the aesthetic properties of everyday digital objects. This project transforms mundane elements into images that demand attention—visual compositions meant solely for contemplation, which I call (Digital) Pictorial Weavings.
a look into Digital History
I curated over 3,000 default desktop backgrounds spanning the history of operating systems, from Windows 3.0 and early Macintosh to contemporary Mac, Windows, and Samsung systems. To process and organize this collection, I created Annivera, shifting the focus away from their utilitarian functions—or dysfunctions—by deconstructing their visual qualities: colors,
forms, aspect ratios, patterns, and orientations.
Inspired by Anni Albers’ weaving techniques, I designed Annivera to arrange these images into grids, using geometric structures of squares and triangles, and to experiment with the transformation of a line into a plane.
Human-Machine Collaboration
Yet, Annivera exhibits unpredictable glitches. Instead of breaking or halting, the system demonstrates a resilience that feels almost like an instinct for self-preservation. In these moments, Annivera often generates fleeting
images—fragile and luminous—that vanish as quickly as they appear, like tears in the rain. Rather than correcting these anomalies, I chose to embrace them, allowing the glitches to imbue Annivera with a distinct and unpredictable personality.
Drawing on Vera Molnar’s systematic approach to computer art, I selected several configurations as milestones, allowing Annivera to navigate the
space between them autonomously. This interplay between me and system blurs the boundaries of authorship, resulting in generative works that transcend intention while retaining a sense of purpose.
from Digital to physical
The physical pieces in Camino Digital reflect my deep fear of losing these ephemeral digital images, preserving what might otherwise disappear forever—moments as transient and fragile as the glow of distant stars fading into twilight. Rooted in Albers’ notion of “material as a metaphor,” these tangible works echo their digital origins. Some, crafted through embossing
techniques, resist photographic reproduction and exist solely for direct, physical engagement.
Gerrit Rietlveld Academy Gradution show
In this presentation, Annivera takes on an interactive, performative role,
moving between points of interest I define and responding to music from the
Ghost in the Shell films and the game Nier: Automata. This dynamic
interaction embraces the fleeting nature of the images while inviting viewers and contemplate. Together, Annivera and I weave a dialogue
between human and machine, shaping a collaborative exploration that
brings these visions to life.
to engage