The Concept

‘Mathe Matical Objects’ consists of a compilation of photographs, presented in a series of posters and a booklet, which captures household objects in a manner that not only represents the numbers zero to nine in the shape of their digit, but also in a form that relates back to their origin and history.

These photos have then been deconstructed by outlining the figure of the number shown in each visual captured.

The aim is for the audience to be put on a journey of redefining their pre-existing notions that they have on numbers and think outside of the box when interpreting each number.

Methodology

The original object has been captured in a manner which represents the origins and alternative meanings of the number. The photograph taken has then been deconstructed by outlining the figure of the number shown in each image.

The outline has been duplicated sixteen times and rotated at an angle of ten degrees to create a new glyph for each number.

Sixteen and ten have been chosen in particular as originally sixteen was used as a way to split amounts equally contrastingly to how the modern-day era uses ten.

Research & Background

The project combines research on various number theories such as Nominalism which argues the theory of the current numeral system not existing and research on the origins of numbers being initially expressed through objects.

This inspires the project to challenge the current traditional way of how we define numbers, as mathematical objects. It embraces the origin of each numeral and expresses it through an individual object for the first ten numerals discovered.