3 - 15. Gears

032

Oil, canvas

19.7" x 19.7" (50 x 50 cm)

Kyiv, 2014

Magic square 3x3 matrix is formed by various gears. The upper row corresponds to the numbers 4, 3, 8. Medium – 9, 5, 1; bottom – 2, 7, 6. These numbers can be “extracted” by сounting screws, rivets or pins on each of them and through analyzing the visual size of each gear. The gear corresponding to “9” is the biggest, “1” – the smallest. The disk area of each gear is proportional to the numbers from 1 to 9. Accordingly, the radii are proportional to the square roots of the numbers from 1 to 9.

Horizontal, vertical and diagonal sums in this magic square are equal to 15. This is the number of big rivets placed among the gears.

All the gears are connected by different kinds of mechanical transmissions. They convey the rotation from the central gear which corresponds to the number “5”, to all the others. The number “5” is the central point of any magic square and has a profound symbolic meaning in many cultures and occult systems. It can symbolize man, health, fifth element, Mercury (planet), and many other things.