Research notes to inform the _content.mdx write-up. Not published.
Mathemalchemy is a large-scale collaborative art installation — a richly detailed miniature world celebrating mathematics. The installation depicts a landscape populated by characters, buildings, towers, gardens, libraries, and mechanical devices, each one embodying a specific piece of mathematics.
It was conceived by:
The collaboration grew to 24 mathematicians and artists, each contributing one or more elements built in their home studios during the COVID pandemic (2019–2022).
A key intellectual observation: Mathemalchemy reverses the usual modelling relationship. Normally, mathematics models the physical world. Here, the physical world models mathematical ideas, asking what understanding can flow in that direction, and whether making something physical can reveal mathematics that hasn’t yet been formalised. (From “Mathemalchemy Lighthouse — CNC as Mathematical Model” in _Notes.)
The project began in 2019. Most fabrication happened during the pandemic (2020–2021) when contributors worked independently in home workshops across the US and internationally. The final assembly took place at Duke University in July 2021 — an intensive week where all the individually made elements were fitted together, wired, and integrated into the complete installation.
Edmund contributed several distinct elements:
Conway’s Curios shop — the central “shop” building, named for John Horton Conway. Edmund built the structure using a combination of CNC routing and laser engraving. Specific elements:
Voronoi floor — the installation floor is Edmund’s Voronoi tessellation design, cut from white-painted plywood with mirror inserts in the irregular pentagon cells.
Oven Roof (Bakery) — the Mandelbrot Bakery oven roof was designed parametrically in Grasshopper/Rhino. The arched oven door features a Mandelbrot-set bas-relief, set into a laser-cut brick wall with a Celtic knot panel below. The Artists List note describes Edmund’s contribution theme as “Chaos theory” — the Mandelbrot set is the chaos/complex-dynamics connection.
Character figures — multiple large CNC-cut plywood figures including a skateboarder (with dreadlocks, skateboard, flowers), a flute-playing girl with flowing hair, and other characters for the installation’s streets.
Railing panels — wave-pattern (sinusoidal) CNC-routed panels.
Miniature furniture — tiny laser-cut wooden tables and stools for interior scenes; workshop bench included 3D-printed yellow tetrahedra (for sorting/activity components).
Decorative ornaments — ten small laser-cut S-curve ornaments (the Conway’s Curios repeating motif).
Lighthouse roof — CNC-carved oak triangle panel with a Heptagon packing from a piecewise isometry.
Cavalcade of Mathematical Pages panels — two CNC-carved plywood panels with mathematical diagrams, formulas, and a reading figure.
Moving mechanical elements — animated elements that brought motion to the otherwise static structure (the description in the original content).
| Date | Venue |
|---|---|
| January 2022 | National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C. (premiere) |
| 2022 | 808 Gallery, Boston University, Boston |
| 2022–2023 | National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath), New York |
| 2023–2024 | UQAM, Montreal, Canada |
| 2023–2024 | Navajo Nation |
| 2025–2026 | Universum UNAM, Mexico City (through ~June 20, 2026) |
| 2027 (planned) | University of Arkansas |
The Manifesto for Collaborative Mathematics and Art (_Notes) was written partly from the Mathemalchemy experience. Key observations Edmund recorded:
https://mathemalchemy.org/ — official project site. Full team roster, exhibition schedule, contributor pages.
_media/)Poster:
Mathemalchemy_Poster.jpg — official promotional poster (the lit Conway’s Curios shop, complete installation)Exhibition (9):
_Exhibition_Edmund_01/02/03.jpg — Edmund with the installation at Boston University_Exhibition_CurioShop.jpg — Curio Shop interior with Harriet figure_Exhibition_Books.jpg — Cavalcade of Mathematical Pages scene_Exhibition_IntegralHill_01/02.jpg — Integral Hill assembly at Duke_Exhibition_Assembly_Bakery.jpg — Bakery and Curio Shop sections at Duke_Exhibition_Assembly_Wiring.jpg — Interior heptagonal base, wiringFabrication (24):
_Fab_CuriosSign_Flash/Laser/Finished.jpg — laser engraving the sign sequence_Fab_Voronoi_Floor/Floor_02.jpg — Voronoi pentagon floor panels_Fab_CNC_Skateboarder/Skateboarder_Cut/Figure_Workshop/Flute_Figure/Figure_Fence/Railing_Close.jpg — CNC character figures and railing_Fab_CurioShop_Home_01/02/Workshop.jpg — Curio Shop construction stages_Fab_Bakery_Oven/Mandelbrot_Tile.jpg — oven door and Mandelbrot hexagonal roof tile_Fab_Furniture_Table/Workshop.jpg — miniature furniture_Fab_Workshop_Overview.jpg — full workshop with Voronoi windows visible_Fab_Curios_Ornaments.jpg — ten S-curve ornaments_Fab_Sierpinski_Panel.jpg — Heptagon packing oak panel_Fab_Cavalcade_Panels.jpg — two mathematical diagram panels_Fab_Lighthouse_Transport.jpg — Lighthouse in truck_Fab_Plywood_Delivery.jpg — raw material delivery_gallery/fabrication.mdx — 24 images with alt text_gallery/exhibition.mdx — 9 images with alt text_content.mdx — 3-paragraph stub, needs expansionmeta.ts — complete; visibility: 'list' (artworks index, not front page)