Art, elevated: how print took Micce Rylander’s creativity beyond boundaries

“I learn when I stop speaking and listen,” says Micce Rylander. And this, foundational to his art, is advice we should all live by – taking in the perspectives of others so that change can happen. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But Micce and his fellow attendees at Sweden’s MuseIT Symposium know that nothing is ever that easy.

The event, ‘Beyond Boundaries - Multisensory Innovation for Inclusive Futures’, was a space where MuseIT – a collective dedicated to leveraging technology for enabling greater equality and social inclusion – and inspirational people, such as Micce, could present their innovations, tools and approaches for making art and culture accessible and multisensory for all. Together in one place, everyone is encouraged to participate, explore and celebrate in whatever way feels right to them.

The beauty of Beyond Boundaries (held over two days across the University of Borås and Gothenburg’s Röhsska Museum) could be found in its spirit of co-creation. The expression “nothing about us without us” could not be more apt for a programme which showed what inclusive technology in arts and culture might be like and offered ways in which such innovations might embed into society through policy recommendations.

His practice, ‘Art by Micce Rylander’ is the absolute embodiment of these principles. Diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa in his twenties, he knew that one day his sight would disappear completely – and this has shaped the way he approaches both life and art. Today, his paintings have an abstraction and fluidity which mirrors this journey, absorbing new ideas just as easily as he does the feedback from his online community. He began posting his work on Facebook, asking viewers to suggest names for each piece. He found the interpretations added a fascinating new layer to his practice, discovering that no two people will describe a piece of art in the same way. “Everybody creates their own inner images,” he says. “So, I asked five friends who work with words – poets, journalists, songwriters – to give me their impressions. Nobody is right and nobody is wrong. I loved that process.” These became audio descriptions of his paintings.

Robert Danielsson of Signal Quality Print Solutions happened to be listening when Micce described this experimental work on the radio. He immediately knew that this audio/visual concept could, quite literally, be ‘elevated’ by the Canon Arizona 1360 XTF printer and PRISMAelevate XL technology. The company had previously printed the exquisite tactile photography for our World Unseen exhibitions but had not had the chance to work on abstract art – an exciting prospect for both of them.

“Canon was the last piece in the puzzle,” says Micce. "With words, you can explain colours, feelings, moods – books do it all the time – but not structure, a sense of feeling, of form. That’s much harder.” Adding this tactile element became something of a passion for both Micce and Robert, spending the summer in his studio and with Canon Sweden to bring a whole new dimension to paint and print. “We became like family, I think,” he smiles.

Tactile abstracts achieved, there was one more step to take. And this was to be their pièce de resistance at the MuseIT Symposium: The Black Box. A miniature gallery in total darkness, it removes the sense of sight entirely. Artworks exist only as voices and textures. In the context of Art by Micce Rylander, it not only offers a true understanding of how the work is experienced by those with sight loss but demonstrates the power of perception – the beauty and uniqueness which can be found because everyone thinks differently. “Just covering the eyes is not enough,” he explains. “We needed a space that's natural and equal. This offers a world where we are all the same.”

The Black Box stood alongside the tactile images and audio of Canon Sweden’s World Unseen exhibition, demonstrating how elevated print can be applied to photography, fine art and even medical images, amping up the accessibility in what were traditionally ‘visual’ mediums. MuseIT’s ethos of co-creation was at its heart, with both artists and art lovers of all abilities working together to prove that technology, inclusivity and creativity is far from an impossible Venn diagram.

But, like life, technology and creativity has a habit of throwing in a few surprises. And, for Micce, this was Robert’s daughter, Matilda Hemmingsson. A fashion designer who specialises in recycled materials, she is also student at the University of Borås. “When dad told me that Micce was going to have an exhibition at my school, we just felt, ‘We should we do something together’”. The timing was so perfect, it felt like fate.

They decided, again using the Canon Arizona, to print Micce’s abstracts onto fabric. Working at incredible speed, Matilda created a blue workwear-style painter’s coat for him and an elegant long yellow evening dress for her, which they would wear at the event. But, of course, they would not have been complete without an interactive element. “We wanted to build texture and structure into the fabric, so people could feel the elements of the painting, but then it would not stretch, sadly. But we added a QR code, which gives you the story of the clothes,” explains Micce. When you scan it, you are taken directly to an audio description – just as you are with his paintings.

A beautiful collaboration with a true sense of purpose, proving that art doesn’t come from just one place – and certainly isn’t just for one kind of person. This fusion of creativity, inclusivity and technology brings with it new ways of creating and interacting with art, regardless of how you experience the world. But more than that, it has given Micce, Matilda and Robert a treasured new friendship and experience, which they can take with them when they meet new people and share their expertise. As Micce explained, all it takes is to consider the world through a perspective other than your own.