Jennifer Doyle

Mechanical Engineer
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley, California, USA

I have loved viewing, studying, and making art for as long as I can remember - my love for science was far more late-blooming! As a mechanical engineer, I am fortunate to be situated between the two fields, constantly integrating mathematical and scientific concepts with form and design.

I am inspired by the woven wire sculpture of the late artist Ruth Asawa. After recently reacquainting myself with knitting, I decided to attempt my own woven wire sculpture - in the vein of Asawa, but with a more mathematical and scientific bent.

Klein Bottle
Klein Bottle
23 x 23 x 20 cm
Galvanized steel wire
2015

My first experiments with mathematically-themed wire sculpture have been Klein bottles. The concept of producing a sculptural Klein bottle fascinates me, as the two concepts seem to be at odds: a sculpture is, by its nature, 3-dimensional, yet a Klein bottle is not; a sculpture, by its nature, has volume, yet a Klein bottle does not.

The "classic" Klein bottle is considerably more "bottle-shaped" than my piece; I decided to shape my piece into a form more resembling two semi-toroids.

Triple Klein Bottle
Triple Klein Bottle
25 x 25 x 10 cm
Bronze wire
2015

Klein bottles can be linked together in odd numbers and retain their Klein-properties; this piece is a triangularly-shaped triple Klein bottle.