MicaPenrose is a project that intimately links art and science, with scientific rigour and aesthetic refinement. It represents a quasicrystal with tiles made of a periodic crystal called mica, the mineral that sparkles in sand and pebbles.
The colours, which echo the palette of soap bubbles, are created by the optical properties of mica and change as you move around the work. When viewed from the side, the natural colour of the mineral appears.
The pattern - a Penrose tiling - models the atomic structure of the aluminium alloy quasicrystal, the discovery of which overturned scientists' ideas of order in matter and was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The frame of MicaPenrose is itself made of aluminium alloy.
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Artistic intent
This attentive approach to reality invites modern viewers to reflect on how they see their environment and the extraordinary beauty of everyday life.
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Technical assistance: project developed with Sylvain Ravy, researcher at the CNRS, with the support of Diagonale Paris-Saclay, the Grand Est Region, and the expertise of Denis Gratias, co-discoverer of quasicrystals and member of the Academy of Sciences.