Pixel Ware is an interactive table inspired by the world-renown collection of Chinese ceramics at the Oriental Museum, Durham. Traditional decorative Chinese pattern and symbol from the Oriental Museum’s collection, are reworked to create digitally generative surface designs which are projected onto blank ceramic objects on the interactive table. Each object triggers an individual digital pattern to be projected onto it. Visitors can interact with each of the digitally projected surface patterns as they add, move, or rotate objects on the table.
Situated within the museum alongside the ceramic collection, the work creates an engaging interactive environment for visitors and brings a fresh perspective to the ideas and aesthetics of the traditional decorative ceramic design. The use of contemporary digital technology within the context of traditional Chinese ceramic design highlights common concerns and intersections between both ancient and modern processes. The desire to create work which displays visual and aesthetic control and inventiveness through technological experimentation and advancement are common to both traditional and digital techniques of making.