3 - 15. KEYS (I)

036

Oil, canvas

19.7" x 19.7" (50 x 50 cm)

Kyiv, 2015

Opening locks is not the only thing keys are good for. They can also symbolize numbers, and hence, can form up magic squares if properly arrayed. Numbers can be read not only by the number tags attached to the keys. Neither all the keys have their tags. One can know the numbers by counting the clutches and notches. The key in the center, relevant to “5”, is golden – as we know, it is the most important, the “fifth” element of this magic square.

Various keys are placed on some old-fashioned key-holder board. A person who did it had a small cue card with numbers, and left it in the upper corner, crumpled. But the numbers can still be read.

The sums counted up by verticals, horizontals and diagonals of the magic square “key” matrix 3x3 equal to 15.