Where art and mathematics collide

For the last year, composer Liam Taylor-West has been artist-in-residence at the University of Bristol’s School of Maths, with the stated aim goal of engaging audiences with mathematics through the medium of art.

The work he has produced has culminated in Infinite: Order in the Unknown – an exhibition of music and art at Liberty House, Stokes Croft, opening on January 19 and running until the end of the month.

Each of the featured pieces were created in response to the departmental mathematical research undertaken at the time.

The residency is run by Create-React, a volunteer-run project that teams up Bristol artists and researchers in unique and innovative collaborations that stimulate and enrich both disciplines.

They have brought together over 100 artists and 100 researchers from diverse backgrounds and research specialisms, and held free exhibitions in pubs, co-working spaces, galleries and community centres across the city.

Photo: courtesy of Liam Taylor-West/Create-React

Jake Langham from Create-React, told Bristol 24/7 more about the impetus for the upcoming exhibition.

“We wanted to see whether some of our mathematical research could be communicated to the public in an accessible way by working with an artist.

“As a composer, Liam turned out to be a very fit because music and maths are complimentary in a way.

“The art/music is mostly in the form of interactive light/sound installations that visitors can control using touch sensors. The pieces are inspired by active research areas in maths but don’t require any mathematical knowledge to appreciate.”

Photo: courtesy of Liam Taylor-West/Create-React

Taylor-West’s background is in working with live ensembles, orchestras and live players, but in recent years he has made a shift towards electronic composition, lending itself more readily to the incorporation of technology and visuals into his work.

He found that working with patterns and sequences in maths could be effectively translated into music with great audiovisual results.

“What I found most inspiring and exciting was that suddenly I was being shown all these amazing and interesting structures that could be adapted for a musical use, and I was able to present some of their characteristics in a new way,” he recalls.

Two of the most fruitful areas of collaboration developed around probability, specifically in building sounds from random events, and ‘aperiodic order’ – sequences of events that never repeat and never end, but that have interesting structures and near-repetitions that seem very musical.

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to manipulate models to change the sound of the music, and it is hoped, to unearth a passion for maths that perhaps they didn’t know they had.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CYjugxZsQBU/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Infinite: order in the unknown is at Liberty House, 11-13 Stokes Croft, Bristol, BS1 3PY on January 19-30 at 4-7pm (weekdays) and 2-5pm (weekends). The exhibition is appropriate for all ages and free to attend.

Creatives and researchers looking to participate in a future Create-React project can sign up to the mailing list for further information.

Main photo: courtesy of Liam-Taylor West/Create-React

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