Exhibition: Sacred Geometries

Inspired by trends in contemporary photography and the diverse writings of Plato, author Robert Lawlor and architectural historian Peg Rawes, Anise Gallery is marking its fifth birthday with an exhibition of photography based on themes found in the sacred geometries.

Geometry in aesthetics are unavoidable when traversing through the city, whether this is in grand scale such as skyscraper architecture, to the tiny backs of ladybirds. Intricate design can be located in both complex, constructed design patterns and in the minute details in nature. Aesthetics and mathematics come together in geometry, and have done since ancient Egypt, where geometrics were viewed as a visual manifestation of law and order. Later in ancient Greece, they had sacred and scientific properties in helping to solve earthly mysteries.

Into the twenty-first century, we find ourselves in a world inundated with images, through social media, the press, search engines and the like. how are the world’s most sophisticated geometries best captured? Evidently, sacred geometries have value beyond that of the aesthetic, and are viewed as the coming together of mathematics, nature and spirituality, due to their use in religious iconography.

‘Sacred Geometry’ has various levels of complexity, from the sphere to the flower of life, each with their own significance in fields such as religious and mathematics. However, once these designs enter the realm of art and reproduction, they risk losing their aesthetic power and meaning, as products of the artist’s ideas instead of being autonomous. Does photography change this? The attraction to photography has always been its ability to depict its subject matter true-to-life; yet in a world of post-production and filters, aesthetic manipulation and embellishment are now prevalent in contemporary art, and ‘Sacred Geometries’ looks at how the two might come together, here in the polarising environments of nature and the metropolis.

Whereas Lawlor focuses on sacred geometry’s ancient powers and mystique, architectural historian Peg Rawes has adapted these ideas into more contemporary ideas, incorporating the following elements: the reflective subject, folds, passages, plenums, envelopes and horizons. From an architectural point of view, this allows the transition from ancient symbolism to contemporary urban landscapes.