During April 2014, as part of Heritage Days in Casablanca, the French Institute presented the installation Magic Carpet 2014 by French artist Miguel Chevalier in the former Church of the Sacred Heart. The monumental work revealed itself on the floor of the old building, covering it in a carpet of light with a design inspired by ‘biology, micro-organisms and cellular automata’. In the light display the cells moved at varying speeds, multiplying, dividing and merging with pixellated forms, turning from monochrome to bright, saturated colour while dancing to the music of Michel Redolfi.
The colours and shapes form a giant kaleidoscope
The installation revisits the tradition of embroidery, Islamic art, and mosaics as depicted in the graphic pixels
Inspiration was also taken from the ancient stories of One Thousand and One Nights
The work also references a world of biology and microorganisms
The work is reminiscent of Moroccan craftsmanship, where carpet making holds an important position
Swirling colours in the magic carpet, 2014
The carpets are made up of ever-changing pixels
When the viewer moves, the trajectory of the curves move under their feet
