Risto A. Paju

Artist
Jyväskylä, Finland

I discovered the art of iterated function systems (IFS) in a fractal mathematics course during the summer of 2015. Having no background in visual arts, this opened up a weird new world of expression to complement my endeavours in music and theatre.

As an occasional maths and science teacher, I could always use fresh reasons why a young person should take up mathematics. With these pictures, I hope to make a strong case for artistic fascination and dismantle the cold, hard image of science.

Dalipäät
Dalipäät
60 x 42 cm
Digital print
2015

I rarely plan my IFS art in advance. Especially with nonlinear and non-analytic functions, the effect of changing parameters is often hard to predict, so I usually just play around with a couple of simple functions until something interesting comes up. One night I nearly freaked out, as this maelstrom of madness emerged from the interplay of two rather innocent functions in the complex plane.

Moose Yoda
Moose Yoda
60 x 60 cm
Digital print
2015

One of my early attempts with IFS art, using two complex functions. Plotted only in black and white, as I had yet to discover my colour technique. Hence the power of dithering, making variable shades from individual points, becomes very apparent. This picture also features a rather personal theme of mine with its spiritual and philosophical interpretations.