A sea of pixels for the last rest

Christoph Brech releases pixels into the analogue world: two wall mosaics measuring 1.37 x 7.22 metres have been created for the new urn complex at Munich's Westfriedhof cemetery according to the specifications of Munich-based photo and video artist Christoph Brech.

The two motifs, Il Ponte I and II, are composed of around 180,000 glass smalti and reproduce the pixels of the video artwork almost identically in colour. The workshops worked with the artist to select around one hundred different shades of colour, ranging from black and brown to purple, green and blue. Piece by piece, the mosaicists carefully assembled the coloured glass stones into the two harmonious motifs according to a precise template.

Each 'analogue pixel', or mosaic tile, measures 1 x 1 centimetre.The artist Christoph Brech works with video art, photography and installation. This is the first time he has worked with glass mosaics. The motif is based on a video he shot in Florence. It shows the reflection of the Ponte alla Caraia in the Arno. At first rather abstract due to the roughness of the water surface caused by the current and wind, it becomes clearer as the video progresses. Two stills from the video were used as models for the mosaics.