Hyperbolic

Stick three hexagons together and they form a two-dimensional surface. Add a septagon between and you end up with a warped picture. Any such connection where the angles at a vertex add up to more than 360° curves into a plane that needs three dimensions to exist. This is the world of hyperbolics. At Stuk in Leuven, FoAM investigates these curved shapes in more detail. Material research is combined with topological intuitions to create extravagant entities that are reminiscent of coleslaw and sea-slugs.

From their experience in fashion design – which can be seen as a fundamentally topological exercise – the group sets out on a voyage examining flatland's most curvaceous inhabitants. The foot of the sewing machine gets into the most trouble in this project as it travels along ever-increasing curves to connect fields of polygons together. For the people operating the machine, the canteen at Stuk provides solace with a great choice of food, among which is the heaviest piece of chocolate cake ever (the consistency approaches a neutron star). Eventually a fine selection of hyperbolic objects are on show.