2022 Bridges Conference

Jennifer E. Padilla

Artists

Jennifer E. Padilla

Artist

J. E. Padilla Studio

Altadena, California, USA

jepadillastudio@gmail.com

https://www.jenniferepadilla.com/

Statement

Twenty years of experience in scientific research, including a Ph.D. in biochemistry and an M.A. in mathematics, guide my journey to express the beauty of mathematical abstraction and scientific inquiry through my art. My research was focused on self-assembly of molecules, how the assembly process could be guided by symmetry, and how it could relate to computation. As I venture into the world of art, I am exploring the connection between Islamic geometric design and topics ranging from Euclidean geometry to algorithmic assembly, quasiperiodic order, crystallography and other themes. The Penrose tiling is a personal favorite for the visual connection it creates with the concept of recursion.

Artworks

Image for entry 'Lectio Divina Quasiperiodica'

Lectio Divina Quasiperiodica

240 x 120 x 60 cm

Fabric, handmade book, music stand.

2022

Penrose tile patterns composed from traditional Islamic geometric motifs fill this hand-bound 72-page, 33 x 33 cm book. It rests on a music stand in front of a floor-to-ceiling, semi-sheer hanging fabric print featuring a Penrose tiling incorporating motifs from the Darb-e Imam shrine. The scale of the fabric and its gentle filtering of ambient light create an immersive experience, inviting the viewer to open the book and explore page upon page of variations on the theme. The images inside express the quasiperiodicity, symmetry, recursive nature, substitution rules, and other elements of the Penrose tiling, generating insight into the fundamental features of its intricate construction and mathematical beauty.