Benjamin Storch

Benjamin's work originates from a desire to create dynamic surfaces in metal. Inspired by a kinesthetic sense of motion and imagery of dynamical systems in nature and physics, his work draws on practical experiments, mathematical rendering and visualisation via CAD. Twisting surfaces involve a special geometry of 'negative curvature', which is the opposite principle to spherical form. Their creation requires a complex metalsmithing technique, where the peripheral areas of a sheet metal surface are stretched and the central areas are compressed. This became the subject of a PhD research project at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham, UK. Now living in Mid Wales near Llanbrynmair, Benjamin continues to push the boundaries of the forming process to create work at a scale suitable for public spaces (for examples, see http://www.benjaminstorch.co.uk).

“Manifold ”

2007, Stainless steel on oak base, 750 x 750 x 450 mm (30" x 30" x 18")

Manifold is based on a complicated mathematical surface, known as the Lorenz manifold, which has an important role in organising the chaotic dynamics of the well-known Lorenz equations. This surface consists of all points that, under the force field generated by the Lorenz equations, end up at the origin of the three-dimensional phase space. This is special because all other points go to the famous Lorenz butterfly attractor. The sculpture consists of a selected band of the entire Lorenz manifold, one that was found to elegantly display its complexity.