Fibre mathematics: exploring topological forms through material practices

International audienceThrough its focus on “fibre mathematics,” this paper contributes to discussions of how mathematical representations entail complex mixtures of matter and form. Drawing on inclusive materialism (de Freitas & Sinclair, 2014) as a way of rethinking the material labour of mathematics, we analyze data collected in a two-week weaving workshop, focusing on how participants worked with the mathematical concepts of dimension and connectivity in problems that were at once topological and material. Focusing on one student’s work, “Akari’s Problem,” we explore how the loom operates as a rich experimental field for the (re)creation of mathematical concepts. This paper takes up issues associated with mathematical representations by focusing on the haptic, visual, and material way that mathematical forms come to life through making processes