"4 - 34" Pool

018

Oil, canvas, 19.7" x 19.7"

Kyiv, 2013 

Magic square matrix 4x4 is formed by pool balls. It is implied that white ball is relevant to 16 as all the others are numbered from 1 to 15. One colour is set for each pair of balls, one of them is painted entirely, another  has a strip of this very colour on it. Black ball is "paired" with the white one. The difference between the numbers in each pair of balls is equal to 8. For instance, yellow ball is marked with 1, yellow-stripped ball - with 9 etc.

Vertical, horizontal and diagonal sums of this square is equal to 34.

The balls are positioned in a way where the lines connecting two balls in all one-colour pairs form symmetric figure. This shape is not depicted, but it exists. It can be traced, connecting one-colour pairs: 1-9 and 4-12, 8-16 and 5-13, 6-14 and 15-7 etc.

Thus a new shape set by simple arithmetics is not shown on the picture, but starts to exist only in the mind of a spectator who can "see" it.