Artists
Heikki Simola
Scientist (PhD), environmetal science
retired
Espoo, Finland
Statement
My artistic ambition largely focuses on the aesthetics of various mathematical shapes, such as topological structures, minimum surfaces and geometrical forms. I have attempted to create pieces of art, mainly wood and paper sculptures, elucidating the beauty of mathematics. Over the past twenty years I have presented my work in a few exhibitions in Joensuu (where I used to work) and in Helsinki - most recent was my Topological Art Exhibition of nine large paper sculptures presented during a Science Week event in Helsinki University last January.
Artworks
Six Platonic Bubbles
25.0 x 45.0 x 47.0 cm
wood (alder, birch, aspen, beech, pine)
2024
The six pieces depict the full series of regular soap bubble forms that conform to Joseph Plateau's Laws, formulated in 1873. To me, this series appears an enchanting parallel to the classical series of Platonic Solids, the five regular polyhedra. I have written and submitted a Short paper presentation about these shapes to the Bridges 2025 conference (Simola, H.: Six Platonic Bubbles, or Regular Bubble Shapes Conforming to Joseph Plateau's Rules, 1873). Surprisingly, this series of regular bubble shapes appears not commonly recogized in soap bubble literature.
Inverted Knotted Torus
7.0 x 13.0 x 11.0 cm
Epoxy resin
2024
A torus or doughnut surface actually has two tubular holes: one that goes through the ring and the other that runs inside it. Topologically the holes are interchangeable. A torus can form a knot, and it is easy to imagine the torus ring being knotted. In this piece the knot is in the hole that runs through the ring, so we have an inverted knotted torus.
When casting this piece, I luckily ran out of resin before getting the toroid mold completely filled. The result is an incomplete toroid shape with a flat side that shows the knot much better than the rounded surface.