Divisão (Division, 2011), by Felippe Moraes, explores the relation between numbers, language and matter through cut wood logs and mathematical operations.

Felippe Moraes
Divisão (Division), 2011
Cut wood logs, inkjet print and pins
Variable dimensions

With simple, direct materiality, Divisão (Division, 2011) proposes a reflection on the arbitrariness of some of the languages we use to describe the world and the phenomena that occur within it. The work consists of four wood logs cut either vertically or horizontally. Each log is paired with printed numbers that attempt to record the results of the cutting actions.

By trying to translate a physical gesture into numerical values, the work exposes the tensions between mathematical language and material experience. At times, the numbers seem to confirm the logic of the operation; at others, they reveal their limitations in the face of the complexity of the relations between measure, matter and perception. Thus, Divisão brings into focus the gap between what can be quantified and what remains irreducible to the language of numbers.

Selected Exhibitions

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