Exhibition
Art of Vision
Art of Vision Southlands Hospital
Pillars of Creation
The Pillars of Creation within the Eagle Nebula is one of the most productive star-forming regions in the Milky Way galaxy. It is a giant cloud of interstellar cosmic dust and gas, located 6,500 light-years from earth in the constellation Serpens. Shaped by powerful stellar winds and in constant flux, it is held together by strong magnetic fields. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, which may exhibit patterns related to the Fibonacci sequence. Whether the entire universe is fractal is still debated but it is thought that parts of the cosmic web have fractal-like properties. This photograph was captured by the Hubble Telescope in 1995. As the human eye cannot see ultraviolet light, this photograph has been colourised to represent the different bands of light: blue is oxygen, red is sulphur, and green is nitrogen and hydrogen.
Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), European Space Agency (ESA) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
Clouds as Fractals
The formations within this cumulonimbus cloud echo the
Pillars of Creation topographically and symbolically, albeit at an infinitesimally smaller scale. Shaped by rising warm, moist, and unstable air (convection), the cloud extends high into the sky in plumes. Such is its force this cloud type is the only one to produce thunder and lightning. Clouds are fractals – if the edge of a cloud
is zoomed in on another self-similar cloud shape appears, which conforms with the principles of the Mandelbrot Set. This diptych provides a visual illustration of how the fundamental laws of physics apply to the micro and the macro – on earth and in the cosmos.
© Masoud Teimory
Chaos & Cosmos
Harj-o-marj in Farsi means chaos. The world-renowned master calligrapher Einoddin Sadeghzadeh fractalises the image of this word to visually signify the creation of cosmos (order) from chaos (disorder). Iranian poetry is considered a sacred visual art. The Persian language is a cursive script, which works particularly well visually with its joined swirling shapes. Selected words are full of meaning, and by expressing them in writing, the calligrapher is performing a spiritual service. Calligraphers in Iran are revered for their special skills and have an elevated status in the community.
© Einoddin Sadeghzadeh
Fractal Triangle
This triangular diagram is an artistic interpretation of the famousSierpiński triangle, which illustrates the fundamental principles of all fractals – how a pattern can infinitely repeat at different scales. Triangles – one of the strongest shapes – are found throughout nature and used in the built environment to create robust structures. This work pays homage to the work of Iranian architect Khosrow Khazai who created a first version of this as a stencil. It is also reminiscent of the work of renowned Hungarian-French artist Victor Vasarely, considered to be the founder of Optical Art – a form of fractalised abstract art which creates optical illusions.
© Masoud Teimory
Eye Disease
A striking tableau of diseases of the eye is symbolically presented as multiple spheroid fractals contained within one large ocular spheroid. Retinal photographs can be used to determine disorders of the eye such as macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease or glaucoma, through studying their appearance for known patterns or identifiable pathology.
DNA Fractal
Genome scientists have established that the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) molecule, which comprises the genetic instructions for the development of all living organisms, contains self-symmetry. A fractal globule enables the cell to pack DNA tightly, avoiding knots and tangles that might interfere with the cell’s ability to read its own genome.
© Jonathan Brett
Eye Patient
Mrs Bains had a corneal graft combined with cataract and lens implantation by Senior Ophthamologist Masoud Teimory. She had suffered with poor vision since childhood due to scarring of the cornea from keratitis (inflammation of the cornea). Her vision had further deteriorated due to age-related cataracts.
She is depicted here in an oil painting by painter Majid Mohagheghi, to celebrate the success of the procedure and the major improvement to her vision and quality of life.
© Majid Mohagheghi
In-Visible
All light waves are composed of electrical and magnetic forces, differing in the length of the waves and the energy they carry. The human eye can only detect 0.0035% of light in the electromagnetic spectrum with our three photoreceptor cone cells – we are trichromats. We are unable to see radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, x-rays, or gamma rays. However, some reptiles, birds, fish, and amphibians have four photoreceptor cone cells and can detect ultraviolet (UV) light – they are tetrachromats.
This male oriental garden lizard in Thailand can detect UVA light present in the colours and markings of animals and food items. It can also change colour, turning itself red to attract attention during mating season or blending with its surroundings when under threat from predators.
The ghost crab is another species that camouflages itself for survival – it is barely visible on this beach in Thailand. Crabs have compound eyes on stalks which allow them to see 360° around them to detect both predators and prey. Some deep-sea crabs have ultraviolet vision to help them detect food such as plankton.
© Masoud Teimory
Synchronicity in Song & Flight
During the spring dawn chorus, it is usually the male birds that sing together to attract a mate and to set territorial boundaries to protect their young. Another reason might be to bond with each other
and create tighter co-operation within the flock. In certain species, a mated pair can sing a duet in such a synchronised way that it sounds like the song emanates from just one bird.
There are many geometrical patterns visible in bird flight. It is thought there is safety from predators in such number patterning. Moving fractals are observable in the flight of these pigeons, as demonstrated by the different stages of their wing movements. When birds, such as starlings, fly in a murmuration, they can move with such synchronicity that it seems they are one organism.
© Masoud Teimory
Flower Power
Fractal patterns are particularly noticeable in plants, where the spectacular leaf or petal arrays allow for maximum exposure to sunlight or to attract insects, such as bees. There is radial symmetry in many flowering plants, where each petal grows around the central bud, which allows the seeds to pack into a space in the tightest possible formation. The seed pods of a thistle are arranged in an intricate array around a central axis, conforming to a Fibonacci spiral.
Seed Dispersal
The arrangement of grasses in a field can seem random at first but there are patterns in how plants and flowers spring up in nature too, based on mathematical patterns involved in the flight path of their seeds. There are many methods for seed dispersal, including the use of wind, water, gravity, and animals, and fractal analysis has revealed that some seed dispersals have an aggregated spatial pattern with statistically self-similar properties.
© Masoud Teimory
Fractals of Water
Certain waves have a fractal dimension, which can result in complex fractal patterns left as imprints in the sand or on rocks along the shoreline.
Clouds form when a parcel of air becomes saturated with water vapour. They contain self-repeating rough shapes conforming to the Mandelbrot Set. Clouds can also present as fractal-like distributions across the sky.
As water droplets on the pine tree evaporate, the patterns left behind can exhibit fractal-like structures, from the way that water spreads out or leaves deposits.
The gravitational effects of the moon on the earth’s oceans create tidal patterns that exhibit fractal-like behaviour. The topography of the moon itself also displays some elements of fractal geometry.
© Masoud Teimory
Eye See
The human eye perceives perspective and shapes through a combination of complex physiology, visual cues and the interaction of light with our environment.
When we look at the world, the eye projects a two-dimensional image onto the retina. The brain deciphers this flat image using a range of depth cues to estimate distance: parallel lines seem to converge as they stretch into the distance; faraway objects look smaller than those nearby; and distant scenes appear hazier due to the scattering of light. Additionally, having binocular vision – seeing with two eyes – enhances our perception of depth.
Curved forms are interpreted through several visual mechanisms. Specialised cells in the retina detect edges and contours. The fovea within the retina picks out sharp detail, while our peripheral vision contributes to the recognition of overall shapes. Light also plays a crucial role: the way it falls on a curved surface creates patterns of highlights and shadows, which signal curvature to the brain.
© Masoud Teimory
Birds of a Feather
Bird feathers exhibit fractal patterns both within their individual designs and in the way each feather contributes to a larger fractalised formation. The fractal patterning enables efficient packing and distribution of the feathers, providing strength, warmth and lightness, all of which are essential for flight and survival.
Birds have highly developed vision. Many can see ultraviolet light, which enables them to find food, identify mates, and navigate. Some birds have a wide field of view, with eyes on the sides of their heads, allowing them to see predators and other threats. Whereas hunting birds have forward-facing eyes, giving them binocular vision essential for judging distances when diving for prey.
© Masoud Teimory