Proteo (2013)

Joanna Hoffmann, Germany

Description

Proteo is an animation in which a cloud of particles creates mini-universe folded in the form of Calabi-Yau space. It gives birth to a convoluted protein molecule, the basic brick of life, and its dynamic molecular ‘dance of life’, in a poetic way brings to mind a question about the relations between the energy, matter and form. The animation creates an effect of a hologram inside a transparent pyramid. It is a kind of virtual incubator, in which the process continues to develop and repeat itself.

Proteo was inspired by the complex geometry of proteins which reminded me of Calabi-Yau spaces. In those spaces, according to the superstring theory, successive dimensions of our world are “curled up” on the subatomic level. If the hypothesis about multi-dimensional nature of the world is true, then Calabi-Yau spaces are everywhere, in each “point” of the space outside as well as inside us.
The title refers to Greek root of the term protein as well as to the tradition of searching for arche – the essence of the physical realm and of our existence

Proteo belongs to the series of multimedia works titled Hidden Topology of Being

For more details, visit http://www.johoffmann.com/proteo.htm

Medium

Monitor, plexi, MDF, 3D Animation

Image credits

Joanna Hoffmann