Calabi—Yau: Hidden Dimensions

In Paris in 1936, the poet Charles Sirato founded a new art movement called Dimensionalism. It was launched in an aesthetic manifesto signed by several important artists of the time, including Hans Arp, Wassily Kandinsky, Marcel Duchamp, Sonia and Robert Delaunay. The Dimensionalism manifesto was a passionate call to art and literature to leave our three-dimensional reality and step into the world of multidimensionality proposed by the new physics. Painting should leave the surface and expand into the room. Sculpture should be mobile and changeable to visualise the fourth dimension of time. By embracing the new understanding of the world in physics, art would step into a new dimension of heightened spiritual experience of the universe.

Since Sirato’s manifesto, science has continued to inspire artists to push the boundaries of our perception and portray yet-unseen dimensions of reality. Fascination for physics’ expanded understanding of existence and the belief that art can make us experience extended dimensions is the central theme of Bahareh Ardakani’s new collection for ArdAzAei.

She is particularly interested in String Theory, which suggests that the smallest particles of the universe are one-dimensional vibrating strings, and in a mathematical visualization called Calabi–Yau spaces. These spaces are a representation of how the universe can accommodate infinitely more dimensions than three, in that these dimensions are imagined to be hidden in holes, coiled or infinitely small.

The Calabi—Yau idea of concealed dimensions is expressed in this collection in a sophisticated play with the possibilities of different materials to be shaped, folded, rolled or draped.

 At its core is a series of remarkable dresses where cuts, pleats and drapes create pieces that burst the three-dimensional static space and open to a dramatic multidimensionality.

These pieces seem to soar through time and space, and seductively carry on a world of secrets in hidden folds and volumes. They elegantly move from the microcosm in the exquisite details of the embroidery to the macrocosm in the overwhelming sculptural beauty of the overall impression.

Sara Arrhenius, Author, Curator and Director of the Institut Suedois, Paris.

This collection takes a deep dive into the geometry and mathematics that have inspired me since the inception of ArdAzAei for their ability to reveal the rhythms of nature. It’s an exploration of the physics of String Theory that proposes our universe is composed of ten dimensions. At its foundation lies a vibrating loom of infinite superstrings that oscillate in all dimensions at once, providing the scaffolding upon which all phenomena unfold.

String Theory can feel incredibly complex, yet tools such as the Calabi–Yau manifolds, a sequence of mathematically generated shapes swirling within each other, can help visualise how these dimensions relate to one another. In my interpretation, these shapes, when laid flat, appear reminiscent of the petals of a Persian rose—yet when they are folded together, form a series of infinitely related loops.

The collection is built around a curiosity as to how different materials with different properties can be manipulated to create the optics of geometry in motion. It’s about the idea of the universe being folded, and the vibrating strings of fibres that provide the scaffolding of each piece.

Layers, pleats, and curves are central to this collection. Mathematical folds create circular volume, while layered organza ‘petals’ open to three dimensions, creating complex patterns that morph as they travel around the body. The repetition of details in some of the shapes is designed to give the sense of additional dimensions existing within the architecture of evening gowns and cocktail dresses. Some are in a clear mathematical sequence, and some are randomly placed to create a confused balance, a confusion I call controlled drama.

One of the new techniques we are using this year is 3D-printed embroidery sequences. These pieces, shaped in the ArdAzAei emblem, are custom-made for this collection and are then hand-embroidered on embroidered glass beads, sequins and crystals to create an additional surface, connecting the collection to the Calabi–Yau manifolds. The superstrings at the foundation of the universe are expressed through embroidery and crystals which shimmer atop the surfaces of fabrics like space dust. Tailoring remains key: corset silhouettes create an hourglass figure, highlighting the fourth dimension of time – as, just as there are no straight lines in nature, neither is time linear, and I hope these pieces remain timeless.

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<p class="p1">The Calabi–Yau idea of concealed dimensions is expressed in this collection in a sophisticated play with the possibilities of different materials to be shaped, folded, rolled or draped. At its core is a series of remarkable dresses where cuts, pleats and drapes create pieces that burst the three-dimensional static space and open to a dramatic multidimensionality.</p>

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