Synopsis
Long before writing, the Berber rug encoded information: territory, identity, a people's collective memory. DATA RUG updates this function, substituting the forces of a contemporary place.
The installation captures the invisible flows of a city — air quality, ambient noise, traffic density, open environmental data — and algorithmically transposes them into a generative textile pattern. Each variable shapes a formal parameter: fabric density, thread colour, pattern direction.
Paris produces a dense, regular rug; Casablanca generates a thermal, discontinuous pattern. No place produces the same result — specificity is structural, built into the algorithm.
DATA RUG does not visualise data: it materialises it, simultaneously invoking two forms of encoding — algorithm and knot, pixel and thread.
Technical Setup
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Technology | p5.js / JavaScript, open data APIs, real-time rendering |
| Display | Screen(s), projection, or LED wall — real-time digital rendering |
| Physical output | High-definition print or weaving (limited edition or unique commission) |
| Specificity | Each location generates a non-reproducible work |
| Connectivity | Internet for open data APIs (or pre-loaded data by prior agreement) |
| Dimensions | Variable by configuration (wall screen, projection, printed rug) |
| Setup | 1 to 2 days by configuration |
| Power | Standard 220V |
Audience
All audiences · Adults · Digital professionals · Researchers · Design students · Cultural institutions, smart city festivals, public commissions
Credits
Artist: Kamel Ghabte · Production: Studio Kamel Ghabte · SIRET 489 325 308 00026
Associated publication: DATA RUG Protocol — creation journal, Digital Memories of Morocco series, book 1, KDP · ASIN B0HCW7WKHV
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