Ifrit, 2011, exhibition view Galerie Sfeir-Semler Hamburg-Gallery

Ifrit, 2011

Exemplary for the possibilities of a system that consists of invariable, but largely arbitrarily combinable individual parts are the so-called Girih tiles, a set of 5 tiles that were used for decoration in the Islamic cultural area from about 1200 onwards. From these, apparently regular, but in reality aperiodic structures emerge, whereby there is no hierarchy between the individual parts in the sense that the structure, according to its idea, spreads out from a nameable centre or aims towards one. The individual elements could rather continue to infinity at the same scale and form local centres, which would not be subject to any hierarchy.In my opinion, the volute, on the other hand, has played such an important role in the history of design not only because of its universal applicability, but above all because it corresponds to a certain principle of order. From the main shoot of a volute vine, side shoots can branch off, which, like the main shoot, can end in volutes. The branches always repeat on a smaller scale the superior form of which the structure as a whole is made up.  Thus, similar to the branches of a leaf, the superior form could be part of a larger one, while the subordinate form could form further branches and so on.