Artists
Rachel Quinlan
Associate Professor of Mathematics
School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences, University of Galway
Galway, Ireland
Statement
I am a mathematician at the University of Galway, with artistic and scientific interests in the craft form of tessellation origami. I am especially interested in the use of origami as a practical tool for exploring phenomena of discrete geometry, such as the wallpaper classification. Through my work in this field I try to highlight the power of art as a means for expression and appreciation of mathematical meaning, which is underutilized both in mathematical research and in education.
Artworks
Buí (pronounced "bwee") is the word for yellow in the Irish language. This origami tessellation has three distinct views: opaque views of both front and back, and a backlit view that highlights the pattern created by varying numbers of paper layers. Please pick it up and look from both sides, and hold it up to a light source in the room for the backlit effect.
Each of the three views shows a plane periodic pattern plane with four-fold rotational symmetry. The four-fold rotation centres are at the same positions in all three views. The patterns in the three views represent the three distinct wallpaper classes whose symmetry groups include four-fold rotations, and the backlit version may be interpreted as a superposition of the other two.
Bán (pronounced "bawn") is the Irish word for white. This origami tessellation is a companion to Buí. The front, back and both distinct backlit views show periodic plane patterns. All four views show patterns of the same wallpaper class (p4m or *442), with rotation centres and reflection axes in the same positions. The work is a single intact piece of paper, folded by hand from a 70cm square sheet.