Duo en résonances

After twenty years restoring heritage mosaics, Françoise Lombaers joins Guillaume Slizewicz to explore unmapped territory. Four algorithms—drawing from fungal networks, fractal patterns, and cellular automata—become mosaics where square tesserae generate unexpected organic movements. A quiet investigation into how ancient techniques might evolve.

Mosaic demands years of training. Its practitioners grow fewer as creators turn to digital tools. Rather than resist this shift, Lombaers and Slizewicz ask what happens when these worlds meet: algorithms mapping territories the hand cannot reach, while mosaic’s material weight grounds computation in physical space.

By opening generative pathways into this ancient practice, they create entry points for those who might otherwise never approach it. The work sits at a particular moment—when AI tools prompt us to reconsider what artisanal gesture means now.

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The collaboration centers on process. To work at scale, Françoise developed a system using square tesserae, drawing patterns from textile and ceramic traditions. Together they wrote algorithms that respect the square’s constraint while generating new forms. Each algorithm follows its own logic: mycelial branching, minimum spanning trees, cellular evolution, wave propagation. The research focused on representing movement through fixed geometry—finding where mathematical rules yield organic behavior. Four pattern systems emerged: Mycelium, Prim-Jarnik, Game of Life, and Waves. Each offers infinite variations, natural forms emerging from simple rules.