11/08/2022

Artwork expresses the complexity and beauty of the Möbius strip.

Escultor Valin Branco

When talking about IMPA, the famous Möbius strip immediately comes to mind. Besides illustrating the institute's logo, the object is represented in a huge bronze sculpture located on the 2nd floor of the building, in front of the Ricardo Mañé auditorium. The location is one of the most photographed on campus and has become a meeting point for students and researchers.

But what many people don't know is that IMPA has another sculpture representing the Möbius strip. The beautiful wooden artwork is made up of eight moving parts that take on new forms. The work, which is on display in the director's office, was created by the Minas Gerais artist Valin Branco.

Escultura na diretoria

“I’ve enjoyed wood carving since my teens. I started by making figurative sculptures, gradually moving towards surrealism until I arrived at abstract art. I went through a phase where I started making variations on the infinity symbol, and people connected to Lacanian psychoanalysis told me about the Möbius strip. When I researched it, I saw that its origin was mathematical and that several artists had explored this form,” he says.

Várias formas da escultura

The Möbius strip is a special type of surface that fascinates mathematicians, artists, and engineers because it has only one side, defying the laws of physics. It was created by the German mathematician and astronomer August Ferdinand Möbius in 1858. The shape was chosen as the IMPA logo during the administration of former director Lindolpho de Carvalho Dias.

“For me, the Möbius strip, as I call it, signifies the discovery of a parallel universe, where I can apply its surface to any form, expanding the possibility of creation. I understand the variations of the Möbius strip as the Multiverse, which are the cuts in its surface that become links. For me, it is philosophical!”, states the sculptor.

Information about Valin Branco's work and projects is available on the website .