Bricks Decoded: Miniature City Created From Bricks by Matteo Mezzadri.

Dearest Yellowtracers, I am super excited to announce our content partnership with Brickworks Building Products – an Australian company that designs, develops, manufactures and sells various building materials (and seriously good ones at that) – which will see us explore the versatility, immense magic and the infinite possibilities of, you guessed it – BRICKS.

My love of brick is no secret, and the reasons for this are many. This modular building block has the power to transform from the smallest moment, a tiny little detail into monumental works of architecture. We will seek to break down the universal design language of bricks, in a very special content series curated by yours truly especially for you, dubbed Bricks Decoded. Ummm, soooo HOT – I know!

Bricks Decoded will take us to all sorts of places – the ones you expect, and equally to those you don’t. At its core, the series will explore the infinite possibilities of bricks from the simplest, classic stretcher bond walls, to monolithic buildings and grand architecture, whilst highlighting the power of tactile, human scale qualities bricks are renowned for. Needless to say, we will also study and celebrate the myriad of extraordinary brick patterns, from intricately interlocking modules, extruded shapes, fluid forms and everything in between. If luscious architectural tapestries are your jam, then you’ve come to the right place, dudes.

And if for some reason you’re not on board with the deliciousness of bricks (I mean, who are you, anyway?) – don’t worry. By the time we’re done here, you’ll all be in the brick-is-awesome club. 100% guaranteed!

We are kicking things off today with something a little bit left of field (I know, how unusual of me) – a wonderful photography project by Parma-based artist Matteo Mezzadri called “Le Città Minime” (Minimal Cities), which places the brick at its core.

In this inspiring series, Mezzadri conceptually explores the space in which the majority of people live – a city. An urban space is instantly recognisable for its essential structure, such as high rise buildings, houses, roads, canals and trees. Rather than recreating a literal model of cities, Le Città Minime captures a different point of view that distorts and recreates the idea of an urban space.

This multidisciplinary photographic project created by the Italian artist in his studio sits at the intersection of sculpture and installation. The project is the result of meticulous, almost obsessive staging, where the use of Photoshop in the final images was minimised. The atmosphere was rather recreated through the clever use of technical trickery and photographic equipment.

A variation of viewpoints from both the camera lens and the sources of illumination create altering visions, playing with our perception of scale. The final result perfectly communicates the Gestalt theory that states, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. Which, for my money, links back perfectly to the essence of bricks as a single element with vast versatility.

This Yellowtrace Promotion is proudly created in partnership with Brickworks. All related thoughts and ideas reflect our genuine opinion. Like everything we do at Yellowtrace, our sponsored content is carefully curated to maintain utmost relevance to our readers.

[Images © Matteo Mezzadri.]