____Digital Arabesques, Miguel Chevalier, 2014. _Images courtesy the artist_____

[Miguel Chevalier](http://www.miguel-chevalier.com/en/)'s keen eye for projection-mapped ambiance, manifested in installations like [_Magic Carpets_](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/interactive-light-display-turns-moroccan-church-into-magic-carpets)_,_ has transformed a United Arab Emriates waterfront into an interactive, chameleon-like landscape with Digital Arabesques. During the city of [Sharjah's 2014 Islamic Art Festival](http://www.maraya.ae/2014/01/islamic-arts-festival/), Chevalier's animations transitioned between images of teetering bridges and swirling, psychedelic patterns right beneath visitors' feet.

Filming with a camera-wielding drone to capture the true beauty and scope of the light artist's visuals, Chevalier's colleague, [Claude Mossessian](https://vimeo.com/claudemossessian) documented the experience, which resulted in the video above. In it, floor space reacts to the people walking on it, uniting a system of six projectors, six infrared video cameras, and one computer to blanket the 164' x 65.6' platform in generative art inspired by traditional crafts including [zelliges](http://www.emeryetcie.com/en/what/tiles/zelliges/), arabesques, mosaics, and [Mashrabiya latticework](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashrabiya).

"In the art of Islam, Miguel Chevalier discovered a decorative manifestation similar to his own language as well as a connection with digital algorithmic art in its characteristic use of geometry of forms and mathematical laws," reads the [video's description](https://vimeo.com/115559399). "Miguel Chevalier enhances these features by the use of computer software to enrich the designs in the realization of his piece."

A film by Claude Mossessian © Claude Mossessian

Digital Arabesques 2014, Miguel Chevalier

Islamic Art Festival, Al Majaz Water Front, Sharjah (UAE)
Department of Culture & Information, Directorate of Art, Sharjah Government
From 18th to 29th of December 2014
Generative and interactive virtual-reality installation
50 m x 22 m / 164 ft x 65,6 ft 
1 100m2 / 11 840 ft2
6 video-projectors 20 000 Lumens, 6 infrared video cameras for the interactivity, 1 computer
Software: Cyrille Henry and Antoine Villeret
Video-projectors : G-Force Arts, Dubai (UAE)
Technical production : Voxels Productions / Nicolas Gaudelet


As part of the Islamic Art Festival, Miguel Chevalier takes inspiration from oriental patterns and culture to create “Digital Arabesques 2014”. It's a generative and interactive virtual-reality installation projected on the floor of Al Majaz Water Front. 

“Digital Arabesques 2014” revisits the traditional art of Islam via the medium of digital art. The piece features evolving multicolored graphic scenes composed of ornamental patterns in reference to the art of zelliges, arabesques and mosaics, as well as the world of “Mashrabiya” (latticework). “Digital Arabesques 2014” shows sophisticated geometrical patterns based on overlapping lines driven by mathematical logic. These moving patterns create a wave that forms and deforms to infinity to reveal a colorful living universe that is constantly renewed. When the viewers interact with the piece they create disturbances in the trajectories of these mobile, interlaced patterns beneath their feet. The result is an unprecedented interactive and visually immersive experience.

In the art of Islam, Miguel Chevalier discovered a decorative manifestation similar to his own language as well as a connection with digital algorithmic art in its characteristic use of geometry of forms and mathematical laws. Miguel Chevalier enhances these features by the use of computer software to enrich the designs in the realization of his piece. 

“Digital Arabesques 2014” is Chevalier’s first truly open urban installation. The six video-projectors used are supported by a truss structure without the need for walls or a ceiling. This structure materializes a new architectural space within the city landscape.

The accompanying video was produced by Claude Mossessian using a drone camera. Using this technique, “Digital Arabesque 2014” is presented from a birds-eye perspective as the camera glides over the audience creating a visual experience akin to a huge light carpet. 

The projection on the floor of the fountain piazza creates a vivid world of colors and forms with movement reminiscent of a kaleidoscope and symbolic of the infinity of Nature and Creation. Miguel Chevalier’s artwork plunges us into the magical universe of “One Thousand and One Nights” and flying carpets.

Miguel CHEVALIER Digital Arabesques 2014 Sharjah (short version)

_[Miguel CHEVALIER Digital Arabesques 2014 Sharjah (short version)](http://vimeo.com/115559399) from [Claude Mossessian](http://vimeo.com/claudemossessian) on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com). © Claude Mossessian_

Visit [Chevalier's site](http://www.miguel-chevalier.com/en/) for more of his installations and artwork.

_[A Digital Magic Carpet Covers the Floor of an Italian Castle](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/a-digital-magic-carpet-covers-the-floor-of-an-italian-castle)_

_[Fractal Flowers Are In Full-Bloom At Miguel Chevalier's First Solo Exhibition](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/fractal-flowers-are-in-full-bloom-at-miguel-chevaliers-first-solo-exhibition)_

_[Miguel Chevalier 3D Prints the Enormous Head of a Roman God](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/miguel-chevalier-3d-prints-the-enormous-head-of-a-roman-god)_

_[Desert Topography Gets Warped into a Spiraling Audiovisual Experience](http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/desert-topography-gets-warped-into-a-spiraling-audiovisual-experience)_

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Miguel Chevalier's 'Digital Arabesques' interact with visitors as they traverse its zellige and mosaic-inspired patterns.

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Projected Arabesque Textiles Adorn a Middle Eastern Waterfront

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