Knots

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The works in the series include elements inspired by knot theory in mathematics. While humanity has been making a tangle of things for eons, formal knot theory is a relatively young branch of mathematics, originating in the early 1900s.

As an abstract example, take a piece of string, tangle it up, attach the two loose ends and then untangle the string as much as you can. What remains is in essence the subject of knot theory. While you may end up with a circle, the unknot, it is likely that your string with cross over itself a number of times. For a given number of crossings, there turns out to be a finite number of configurations your piece of string might have. If you want to get fancy with it, you could tangle multiple strings together.

All of this tangling and untangling turns out to be relevant in a number of contemporary areas of study, include the formation of proteins. Intriguing on the creative level are the complex symmetries embedded in many of the forms and their inherent continuities.