Here's a little video from Oxford Maths Institute, showing the model of Fresnel's wave surface that I've been working with over the past few months. This two-part, interlocking plaster structure describes the propagation of light in an optically biaxial crystal.
It could be considered an 'illegitimate' object because pure mathematics can't really be conveyed through physical objects. An article in Wired magazine claims such models – made in the late 19th/early 20th century and previously used as teaching aids in university departments – were locked away in the 1940s "to protect students from the dangers of intuition".
The photographs I made in response can be seen at 'Illegitimate Objects', alongside work from other artists working with different models from the Oxford collection. The exhibition runs from 18 September to 12 November 2015 at the Oxford Mathematical Institute, Andrew Wiles Building, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG More information on this and other models held in their collection can be found at www.maths.ox.ac.uk/node/14847
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