"Never Forever..." is a quantitative visualisation of the transient nature of empire. The visualisation graphs all known empires, colonies and territorial occupations from 2334 BCE to the present day. Each empire occupies a slice of the pie graph with a known start (+) and end (×) date. Each slice is assigned a transparency value of 10% allowing for concurrent empires to be visualised – the more empires that occupy the same period of time in history, the whiter the graph. As history progresses, humankind’s competition for wealth, resources and the relentless drive toward conquest and occupation can be clearly seen in the graph.
The data shows an accelerating trend toward greater and greater conquest of territory and greater and greater competition amongst imperial powers. The graph starts relatively light (top right portion of graph) as early cultures maintain territory that can be considered indigenous. With time, cultures encroach upon one another as shown in the heavy white areas to the left of the graph (representing 900 CE to 1900 CE). The wavelike variation in imperial occupation reveals cyclical patterns of conflict in history due most likely to the evolution of cultural, ethic and religious identity where the separation of self and other provides the nascent conditions within which conquest is morally justified. Despite this, even the longest lasting empire, the 2000+ year Chinese Imperial Era, came to an end – as all past empires have and predictably, extant empires will. The last 100 years (left of centre top) reveals a precipitous decline in empire with only four remaining occupying powers : The United States of America, Israel, Morocco and Turkey.
Never Forever Never For Now
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Believed to be the most geometrically complex and aesthetically beautiful structure in mathematics, the 4_21 polytope is the algebraic form at the centre of a universal theory of everything. Originally described in the late 19th century, 4_21 models all interactions and transformations between known and postulated sub-atomic particles. It is the 21st century equivalent of the proto-scientific art of alchemy – where the transmutation of elements was the most elusive mystery of the universe. The theory is an attempt to reconcile one of the fundamental unsolved problems in physics: unify quantum physics and gravitation in hopes of ultimately explaining the fabric of the universe.
4_21, commonly referred to as E8 since the vectors of its root system lie in eight-dimensional Euclidean space, models field dynamics and elementary particle transformations through pure geometry. As such, the method of its elucidation and comprehension is decidedly form-oriented in nature – one has to visualise the math to understand how it functions. Its subsumed dimension within dimension, within dimension structure creates a staggeringly complex 248 symmetry lattice that predicts all known particles and forces in the universe as it twists and folds in spacetime.
The rendering presented here is the most geometrically accurate visualisation of the 4_21 polytope to date. Previous attempts to render the structure were limited by the inability of graphics engines to construct even simple shapes such as perfect circles. Real Magick... was hand drawn in Illustrator to an accuracy of 1/10,000 of a millimeter.
Special thanks to Dr. John Stembridge for his valuable input.
PROCESS / FORMAT—Silk screen print matte black ink on GFSmith Plasma Polycoat 700 micron Glass Clear plastic. Hand-applied 23 carat rouge gold foil and gold powder gilding. Screen print by K2 Screen, London.
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The Luxury of Protest
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Everyone Ever in the World is a visual representation of the number of people to have lived versus been killed in wars, massacres and genocide during the recorded history of humankind. The visualisation uses existing paper area and paper loss (die cut circle) to represent the concepts of life and death respectively. The total number of people to have lived was estimated through exponential regression calculations based on historical census data and known biological birth rates. This results in approximately 77.6 billion human beings to have ever lived during the recorded history of humankind. The total people killed in conflicts was collated from a number of historical source books and was summed for all conflicts – approximately 969 million people killed, or ~1.25% of all the people to have ever lived. The timescale encompasses 3200 BCE to 2009 CE – a period of over 5 millennia, and 1100+ conflicts of recorded human history.
The sequence of dots to the top left of the graph shows the dramatic increase in the number of conflicts over the past 5 millennia (left to right : 3000 BCE to 2000 CE) with the most recent 1000 years being the most violent. The large dot below the graph represents the 1000 years to come : a predicted startling increase in human conflict.
The relative simplicity and intuitive graphical approach of using a die cut area to represent total people killed, lends a direct poetry to the concept and affords the viewer an instantaneous assessment of the degree to which conflict has shaped human history. Printing in transparent ink allows for a visual assessment of die cut area as compared to paper area without interfering graphics. The graphic simplicity of the poster belies the necessary complexity of mathematical modeling of cumulative population size and the depth of research required to obtain death counts for all conflicts of recorded human history. However, it is the very same simplicity of representation that imparts a sombre and respectful tone to such a weighty subject matter.
Everyone Ever in the World
Counter-Objects
The Luxury of Protest
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“Maths Dreamed Universe” is a quantitative visualisation of the manner in which elemental forms in nature order themselves. The graph – created using generative Python code – maps numbers 0 to 100,001 arranged in a logarithmic spiral. The pattern that results is frequently found in nature, as in the arrangement of floral organs and the formation of galaxies. The spiral reveals the visual relationships of elemental numbers and the aesthetic beauty of mathematical equations.
The project reflects the contemporary interest in the intersection of science and art : in particular the crossover of pure math with graphic aestheticism. The appreciation of aesthetic forms has a long tradition in art and design, but ornamentation is often derided as being little more than a fancy. But what if aesthetic appreciation was functional? – what if beauty communicates and is thus open to analytical investigation? “Maths Dreamed Universe” is the first in a series of projects that investigates meaning in aesthetics.
Stereohype
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