Gabriele Meyer

Statement

Aside from crocheting hyperbolic surfaces, I like to make lino prints. My favorite subjects are sea shells. They have a variety of mathematical aspects: - snails embody spirals - the growth of bivalves shows as dilations and generates curve families - the patterns on cone snails, volutes and others come about through biological mechanisms that are cellular automata. I find these curves of sea creatures very beautiful and inspiring. Hopefully the images also raise awareness that the ocean ecological environment is endangered.

Artworks

The queen helmet seen from the front makes the spiral pattern visible. The Bengal cone has a very intricate design. It can be achieved from Rule 30 after Stephen Wolfram's classification for cellular automata. The cone images left and right of the helmet snail are derived from photographs of a cone snail for sale on Ebay.