“MATHEMATICS is all around us, whether we are [aware of it or not].”
So says Mia Brettell, a scholar from East London, who created a human face entirely out of mathematical shapes as her entry in the Eastern Cape’s first Math-Art competition, run by Nelson Mandela University’s Govan Mbeki Mathematics Development Centre (GMMDC).
Brettell was one of 113 entrants from 36 high schools across the province, whose maths-inspired artworks are on display at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Art Gallery until tomorrow.
From next year, the competition will be run nationally.
GMMDC director Prof Werner Olivier said the competition arose out of the international education trend called STEAM – the acronym standing for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths.
“STEAM is a more modern approach to mathematics, where pupils are encouraged to explore the links between mathematics and the arts. A lot of entrants linked their creation to nature,” said Olivier.
Among these were KwaMagxaki High’s Masixole Mangwana, who created an abstract aloe plant using triangles and circles.
Other nature-inspired pieces included a “Pythagorean peacock” by Fatima-Zahra Hoosain of Nasruddin Islamic School, and an artwork depicting the cycle of life by Sinovuyo Nkola from Strelitzia High in Uitenhage.
Westville Secondary School’s Kyle Jooste chose to show the link between engineering and geometry with an innovative car design.
Participants in three categories – Grade 8 to 9, Grade 10 to 12, and students and teachers of maths – had to explain the maths-art connection in their artworks in a short essay.
- A short promotional video on the Math-Art competition can be viewed on You Tube.
