Marcus Brownlow

RGB GLW, 2024

Image diptych
Diptych 004.01 and 004.02 from the series RGB GLW.

These works explore how colour is recorded and expressed and are as much an investigation of medium as they are an expression of the colour palette of a particular place.

The works were published in book form and were intended to be viewed as image pairs on verso/recto pages. The full series comprises 100 diptychs, each containing a panel of 25 monotone squares arranged in a contiguous 5×5 grid and a panel of 25 black triangles whose shape is determined by the corresponding monotone colour. Each diptych is derived from a different landscape photograph using a rules-based approach that relies on the red, green and blue (RGB) values of individual pixels. Source images were made in Glasgow, Scotland (GLW) during Summer 2024.

One pair of images (004.01 and 004.02, shown above) was printed and framed for exhibition. An additional sculptural work (004.03) was made that used rules to create three-dimensional objects from the two-dimensional triangles. These may be viewed in the accompanying installation images.

The works are a radical re-interpretation of landscape photography. They rely entirely on the affordances of the digital medium and reject the mimetic assumptions of the photograph in favour of visual abstraction.

Exhibition

Installation view 1
Installation view showing prints 004.01 and 004.02 (wall, left), sculpture 004.03 (floor, rear) and artist book RGB GLW (on desk, right).
Installation view 2
Installation view.
Framed print 004.01
004.01 Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308 gsm.
Oak frame. AR 70 Art Glass. 109 x 109 cm.
Framed print 004.02
004.02 Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308 gsm.
Oak frame. AR 70 Art Glass. 109 x 109 cm.
Diptych showing framed prints 004.01 and 004.02
004.01 (left) represents colour as colour; 004.02 (right) represents
colour as shape. Archival pigment prints on Hahnemühle Photo Rag® 308 gsm.
Oak frames. AR 70 Art Glass. 109 x 109 cm each.
Sculpture 004.03 view 1
004.03 represents colour as object. Laser-cut Perspex® cast acrylic,
matt black, 5mm. Various sizes.
Sculpture 004.03 view 2
004.03 Laser-cut Perspex® cast acrylic, matt black, 5mm. Various sizes.
Artist book RGB GLW, cover view.
RGB GLW Hardcover book, paper, card, digital colour printing, 217 pp.
18 x 18 cm. The full book is viewable here.
Installation view 3.
Installation view