Fractal artwork selected for international exhibition

On August 19 an international exhibition of 25 winning artworks from the Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Contest 2009 will open at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM), Hyderabad, India.

Included in this exhibition will be “Fusion”, the fractal artwork of Wellington artist, Sandra Reid.

Fractal art, the beautiful but little known art genre originates from the field of mathematics and is characterised by irregular, self similar patterns that are infinitely complex. Everything viewed in a fractal artwork from the shapes to lighting, colour and texture is created by the artist manipulating mathematical formulas in order to create their artistic vision. It is, therefore, fitting that this exhibition is presented at the congress.

The International Congress of Mathematicians only occurs every four years and the most prestigious awards in mathematics are presented at this event. Smt. Pratibha Patil, the President of India will present what is often referred to as the ‘Nobel Prize of Mathematics’, the Fields Medal(s); the Nevanlinna Prize, Gauss Prize and a new award this year the Chern Medal for lifelong outstanding achievement in the field of mathematics.

To date, the first and only New Zealander to have ever been awarded the prestigious Fields Medal is Sir Vaughan Jones in 1990.

The Benoit Mandelbrot Fractal Art Exhibition will run for the duration of the ICM but is only open to mathematicians attending the event.