Rashmi Sunder-Raj
Artists
Rashmi Sunder-Raj
Mathematical Artist
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Statement
I seek patterns to make sense of my world. Some of these I choose to interpret as visual images. Lately, I have been fascinated with the way that a simple linearly increasing sequence can be applied to shapes in an alternating manner to form serpentine patterns with interesting properties. This is an extension of my investigation into what I have been calling polygon and wedge squiggles where shapes, a sequence, and switching direction are used to construct compound shapes (see https://twitter.com/i/moments/1050938075222855680).
Artworks
![Image for entry 'Radial Sector Annulus'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubmit.bridgesmathart.org%2Frails%2Factive_storage%2Fblobs%2Fproxy%2FeyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NDUwMCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ%3D%3D--1e43c20e9d6eb29f6b4e9678379d207eb87d4dcb%2Frad_sect_a_144dpi.jpg&w=1536&q=75)
“Radial Sector Annulus” has a name inspired by that of a song...perhaps one can sense music trapped within.
It features a ring whose sectors consist of a variant of a wedge squiggle (a squiggle being visible down the center of the shape). The angle of each wedge is 10° (2π/36) and as a consequence, the shape obtained by the sequence of 1,2,3...36 wedges fits within a triangle whose least angle is 5° (2π/72). So 72 of them can fit together tightly to form a ring-like structure. Here, 1/4 of the ring has been obscured by radial lines which extend in a way which may or may not make sense. Hints of regular figures beckon beyond the boundaries for completion. How will perceptions and preconceptions influence what can be experienced?
![Image for entry 'Deception in the Shadows'](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsubmit.bridgesmathart.org%2Frails%2Factive_storage%2Fblobs%2Fproxy%2FeyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NDUwMSwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ%3D%3D--27bcb1e05befcc7816c6822bc4408789694e1c50%2Fdeception.jpg&w=1536&q=75)
One can construct a rhombus rosette by fitting n rhombs around a vertex, filling in the gaps with rhombs and continuing until the figure is convex. Alternatively, the same figure can be constructed using n copies of a crescent made of these rhombs. If n is even, this crescent has mirror symmetry and its concave part mates with its convex part when rotated from either corner, making it easy to use in constructing a squiggle-type shape.
This piece uses portions of a 22-fold rhombus rosette to construct such a shape, and from that, part of a ring. These shapes are split in two by colour. A casual glimpse may give the impression that one part is a shadow cast by the other...upon closer inspection each is revealed as part of a whole.