Andreia Hall and Prudência Leite

Associate Professor of Mathematics
CFC, Maths Department, University of Aveiro
Aveiro, Portugal

We are interested in linking Mathematics with art using different mediums. Presently we are using patchwork and quilting techniques to reproduce mathematical ideas. The present work explores recursions.

Sierpinski's Triangle Revisited
Sierpinski's Triangle Revisited
130x160 mm
cotton fabrics and thread
2010

The mathematical model underlying this work is called Sierpinski's Triangle, after the Polish mathematician Waclaw Sierpinski who described some of its interesting properties in 1916. Among these is its fractal or recursive character.
Sierpinski's Triangle has been used by many artists. We recreate the triangle through patchwork, using floral designs which contrast with plain black fabric along the recursion. In one of the iterations we also use three repetitive plain colours which contrast with the free floral designs of the other iterations.
Finally the triangle is freed from its rigidity through appliqué stretching throughout the whole work.