Thomas Ruff: zycles

Grounded in mathematics and physics, the works in the zycles series are produced as large-scale chromogenic prints, or are sometimes printed directly onto canvas. They are inspired by nineteenth-century texts on science, in particular Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell’s volume on electromagnetism, which includes numerous copperplate engravings of magnetic fields. While not intentionally aesthetic, these delicate traceries were, for Ruff, suggestive of minimalist drawings. To explore their visual and spatial possibilities, Ruff used a three-dimensional rendering program to translate the algebraic formulae of the cycloids—regarded in mathematics as “the most aesthetic of curve”—into computer-generated imagery. The spiraling formations, always faithful to their mathematical origins, evoke a multitude of forms: the trajectories of planets, cascading ribbons, line drawings, and musical vibrations.