Harrie Welles

Statement

My whole life I am fascinated by strip patterns. To design them, I work with systems of deflection lines, drawn within grids of squares or triangles. In that way diversity can be realized within a main structure which remains the same. It astonishes me over and again how beautiful the patterns can be, which are generated in this way. It is an art to find systems of deflection lines which generate strip patterns with high esthetic quality. Strip patterns from ancient cultures inspire me thereby. Especially the strip patterns of the Kuna Indians have a special place in my hart, because so much elegance is inherent to these.

Artworks

Four different encapsulations of trapezoids.

All these 15 strip patterns originate from the same system of deflection lines. The system produces shapes who strongly tempt us to assign human significance to them: rowdy paddle wheel, jaunty with scarves, light-footed trot, dancing triangles, etc.. The coloring of the patterns in an asymmetrical way reinforces that tendency to assign human significance.