Waiter ! There appears to be Science in my Art !

As part of my Creative Fellowship with the Wonderment Walk Victoria, I have the great pleasure to help in the design and production of a new Science-Art sculpture. This extends the great opportunities I have had to develop and see realized a number of significant public Science-Art sculptures and installations. This latest will be a variation of a Mobius strip, a one faced, one edged mathematical curiosity. It may seem to have 2 sides - INSIDE AND OUT - but tracing around - you find they are..ONE.

The same with the two -APPARENT- edges... they are ONE and the same. This version is mathematically, and topologically the same as the classic form of Mobius strip, developed for the Science Garden, on the grounds of Questacon.

The deeper and more interesting aspects ( such as the connectedness) transcend the superficial arrangements. It may be High level mathematics, but it also invites investigation by sight and by touch, and can be enjoyed and explored and pondered without any raising any maths phobias.

Such works can bridge the "two worlds" for the public, providing new perspectives for those approaching it with science on board, and providing a familiar path into unfamiliar territory for those not acquainted with the science. This is something that I try to deliberately craft into the public works with which I have been involved.

The Szilassi polyhedron

The Szilassi polyhedron was developed at the same time as the large Mobius, and is something of a polar opposite. While both forms have a hole in the centre (they are a torus), the Mobius has but a single face and edge. The Szilassi, in counterpoint, has 7 faces, and EACH and EVERY face touches EACH AND EVERY other face. This intriguing piece of geometry was discovered in 1977 by Lajos Szilassi, and may be the most complex shape with this characteristic. Mathematical principles suggest that a polyhedra with 6 holes, and 12 faces is possible, but we have yet to realize what it might look like ... care to try ?

Einstein - Scientist and/or Pacifist

Without doubt one of the icons of modern science, and one of the most recognizable scientists of all time. A complex man, with many chapters in his life. His work on fundamental aspects of space and time, sit alongside his work in support of atomic weapons, and his advocacy for peace. This sculpture was designed as an expression of these points of view, these perspectives on Einstein. Viewed from directly in front, you see the classic, elder Einstein, but as you shift to view from the side, the sculpture transforms to a representation of the dove of peace.

Perspectives, and shifting points of view are recurrent features in my works.

Fun Dial

Given my fascination with nature,outdoors, ancient cosmologies, early observatories, and astronomical instruments and science-art pieces it seemed obvious to combine these into a installation. An approach to Questacon provided a good solar aspect, with clear(ish) sight lines to the sky for much of the year. Working with Karl Meyer and the team from Exhibition Studios we went through a series of iterations. How to create a new take on a sun dial, how to activate the area - make it more of a place to hang out, not just a corridor from parking to tickets. When it comes to gaining attention, figurative forms often provide something extra ( as do kinetic works). We settled on an elaboration of the approach I used with Einstein, to produce 4 figurative works, 4 stages of life - a young girl ( with a balloon) , a youth ( doing a hand stand) , and mature women ( in yoga pose) and an elderly man ( with walking stick). Viewed from a moving pedestrian vantage point, the forms disintegrate and assemble into recognizable outlines. From the perspective of the sun, as it moves across the sky, the shadows move from chaos, to clear representations of the appropriate time of day.

Nkrypt

Many of us go through a phase where we are interested in codes, and mysteries. Some of us don't grow out of it. One of the most significant pieces I have developed to date - in terms of mental effort, and personal satisfaction would be NKRYPT. Inspired by the work of Jim Sanborn and his installation of Kryptos within the grounds of the CIA (Langley), and motivated by the recognition that cyber-security and encryption technologies would only become more important, I was commissioned to develop a public encryption challenge.

The physical form of the installation is expressed in 8 stainless steel columns, installed in a particular configuration near the entry to Questacon. Each pole is unique, differing in height, and in the details of the inscriptions laser cut into the column. Across the installation over 60 different messages have been encoded, each with a unique method of encryption. A number of the messages where developed as introductions,tutorials, and versions of classic school yard code games. Across several columns the history of the development of encryption and secret messages is replayed. The installation of the work generated significant initial interest, to such an extent that a community documented the work ( with over 700 photos) and created Dkrypt a web based resource to facilitate people anywhere in the world to tackle the challenges and collaborate.

A large amount of time went into the layering of messages. Form many of the codes, the Hackers and Crackers have found a link between the DESIGN, the TYPOGRAPHY of the coded message, and the content encrypted within. Taken, as example, one of the codes that has been decoded.

This pattern ( image from the Dkrypt site) wraps around the top of one of the columns. It was soon interpreted as being a standard form of Braille. The larger circles being taken to represent a bump. The decoding, or translation from Braille to English yielded..

A Short sighted general with buses to park

An old French Barber sitting quite in the dark

Tip of a finger, glide of a snail

All our great works on the head of a nail.

Bob Dovenburg - a skilled and committed amateur decrypter ( based in the USA) noted .. "..An early form of Braille was originally developed by Charles Barber to help Napoleon’s soldiers read in the dark. It was never utilized by Napoleon."

The enormous amount of detail, laser cut into the columns, the intensive use of symbols, graphic icons, and the need for care in the creation of each code, from idea, to development of encryption strategy, through into its development as a graphic file was... DAUNTING. How might such an assemblage of squiggles be proof read or checked? While my Father was the Head proof reader for the then Australian Government Printer, I myself am DYSLEXIC, so standard English text is sometimes a mysterious code. The approach I developed was to develop software, scripts that operated within a CAD/CAM program. These scripts automated taking the plain English input, undertake the encryption algorithms, assign the correct symbols and placement and scale and orientation of every line. These processes were tested on a range of smaller files and validated each in turn, before the final full texts for each message was created as a cad file. The cutting of such fine patterns into thick stainless steel, also required a significant period of developing suitable "typography" for the various symbols. while a laser-cutter can move its beam to very precise tolerances, it dosen't mean it can produce any pattern. As the work piece heats up, and cutting thick stainless takes time, there is a risk that small details will melt off, or just vaporize. So special fonts, and cutting sequences also had to be developed, tested and integrated into the scripting. If at any time a human had to check and adjust any part of the process, we could be certain of something being missed. And You cant UNCUT a stainless steel column this big.

To date, only the simplest dozen of so codes have been decoded. The messaged , converted to plain readable text. Each individual code yields a message, and that message when interpreted correctly contributes part of a KEY to solving the final code. A common misunderstanding is that it is hard, or impossible to make an unbreakable code. In fact, it is incredibly easy to make unbreakable codes, and this fact has a strong mathematical proof. the CHALLENGE is making strong codes that are useful in modern day communications and transactions. Recent development in BlockChain based approaches have provided a new approach to, and level of protection.

The breaking of the next layer of codes within Nkrypt will require INSIGHT, as well as some basic cryptography. The codes that have been broken so far, do provide clues, even keys to help tackle the next series of codes.

If you have the gift of a rainy weekend, perhaps you might have a look.