Gabriele Meyer

Statement

I like to crochet hyperbolic surfaces. These surfaces are studied in mathematics, they occur in nature in the form of shells, flowers, algae, leaves, and they are also very beautiful to look at. I am interested in making sculptural shapes that can also be used as lamps. They are not of uniformly negative curvature, but they all have areas of negative curvature, i.e.where the surface locally looks like a saddle. The surfaces are rather large, so I am submitting images.

Artworks

This is an image of a rose or sea anemone shaped hyperbolic disc, which I hung under the ceiling as a decoration. One could also use it as a lamp shade. Creating it, you start with a relatively large, flat disk and then start the hyperbolic crochet on its rim.

This surface started as a flat, crocheted pentagon with unequal side lengths, which was an experiment. The hyperbolic crochet along the rim is also of varying negative curvature. One could hang it below the ceiling. I imagine it as an algae floating in space.

This surface started with a crocheted egg shape. It has holes at the top and the bottom, which allow for a light bulb. Then I crocheted three hyperbolic bands over it, not straight down but at an angle.