Artists
Aiman Soliman
Research Scientist
NCSA - University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois, USA
Statement
My graphic art features tessellations, symmetry, and visual illusions. I explore in my art approaches to the visual harmony of forms and colors rooted in mathematical concepts such as symmetry, tessellations, and group theory. My biggest inspiration came from classical Western music, particularly those written in the style of counterpoint, such as compositions by JS Bach, because in these compositions, the logical/mathematical and the emotional are intertwined.
Artworks
This hanging scroll is designed to commemorate the simultaneous emergence of two periodical cicada broods in the Eastern United States in 2024: Brood XIII (17-year cycle) and Brood XIX (13-year cycle). Unlike common parquet deformation, the featured Auxetic deformation includes rotating and emerging tiles, allowing for greater artistic possibilities. The hanging scroll showcases a succession of five tessellations that imitate the different stages of the cicada life cycle: young instars (p2), burrowing instars (snub square tiling), emerging nymphs (CM), molting cicadas (snub square tiling), and adult cicadas (p4g).