A spirale shaped from minimal circles. Growing and growing. From the inside to the outside. Or from the outside to the inside. McLoop [m'k lu:p] is what Olaf Probst calls the series of works which he has been working on for the last seven years. Loops are drawn on paper, cardboard, photographs and other materials with ink pen or whiter, or they are milled into glass, mirrors or copper. Everything can be the starting point for the rampant, woven growth of loops: drawings, etchings, sculpture, installation, poetry, film, theory, performance, photography, tables, t-shirts, potatoes and lamps. The geometrical shape of the circle, the basic element of each loop, is the ideal shape. It has neither beginning nor end, recalling infinity. All its points are in equal distance from the centre. However, if drawn from hand, a circle will never be perfect. Mistakes creep in, which increase in the rhythmical process of lining up. The loop starts to deviate more and more from the ideal shape. It goes baggy, out of shape in various directions. There are compressions, accidental structures, ribs. By the dynamics of the mistake, the loop is revived. Development is only possible through deviation from the norm. As with a woven Celtic pattern, you can only disentangle the intricate design of a loop with great concentration. Perceived as a whole, the loop is a like a creeper overgrowing any surface, like a bacterial culture seen through the microscope. In contrast to this organic aspect is its monotonous, purely mechanical execution. The basic element of the loops – nought – is reminiscent of the binary code (I0I0) of a computer programme. Olaf Probst calls himself a McLoop-a-nizer: the infinite repetition of a minimal sequence – hour after hour, Probst adds circle onto circle – simulates the inner mechanics of a computer. And indeed, Macintosh software has been dominating and influencing design, typography and communication design worldwide. Computers control our perception and visual habits. Probst dodges this phenomenon with his animistic technology: The artist’s hand, moving in a continuous loop of repetition, cannot be detached from his emotions during the process of drawing. Each loop is unique. It manifests a single event, which cannot be reproduced. Apart from 0-loops, Olaf Probst also creates loops from words, which are subsumed in the series «Grey Values»: endless repetitions or reflections of a word or of groups of words (meinsniedeinsnie, sexesseyes, globalocalacolabolg). The characters, however, are so small that they can hardly be deciphered. Like the 0-loops, they create rhythmical surfaces. Olaf Probst calls it «typographical pointillism».
McLoop lamps are images lying flat. The lamps are extendable and can be used for all ceilings. The light is reflected upwards from the mirrored back of the disc, creating its own space of light. The loop is projected towards the ceiling, where it proliferates. The light shines downwards extensively and evenly so that it does not create dazzle. If switched off, the motif appears light grey and transparent. Switched on, the sealed surface of the mirrored back remains dark. The recommended halogen lamp creates a warm yet light illumination. Custom-made constructions for optimal illuminations of individual rooms are available.