Using a single thread roughly 1-2 km long (0.6 – 1.2 mi), Petros Vrellis continuously wraps the thread in straight, continuous lines, from one peg to its direct opposite peg in a circular, 28″ loom with 200 evenly spaced anchor pegs on its circumference. Thus each artwork is made from 3,000 – 4,000 continuously intersecting straight lines of a single thread.

Interestingly, knitting is done by hand, with step-by-step instructions dictated by a computer algorithm designed by the new media artist. Vrellis explains:

“The pattern is generated from a specially designed algorithm, coded in openframeworks. The algorithm takes as input a digital photograph and outputs the knitting pattern. Over 2 billion calculations are needed to produce each pattern.”

 

For ‘inputs’, Vrellis used famous portraits by the famous Spanish Renaissance artist El Greco. Below you can see a timelapse video along with close-ups of Petros’ experimental knitting project. For more information check out his official website. If you’re interested in purchasing any of the original artworks you can see what’s currently available on Saatchi Art.