Depth and Gold Resonance

About this work

Seen as a whole, the square is one coil tightening towards a dark centre on a navy-black field, with every rib of the spiral picked out in cream and gold. Each ridge has a lit edge and a shadowed flank, which gives the curve real depth, as though it could be lifted off the wall. At lower right the movement comes to rest against a cream fluted pillar, with a few gold bars standing beside it like stacked ingots. That corner anchors the composition and gives the eye somewhere to land after following the turns inward. A thin gold line runs round the border as a printed frame. From a distance you read one bright whorl on dark ground; nearer, the fluting on the column and the fine banding of each rib take over.

The golden ratio, about 1.618, appears when a line is divided so that the whole relates to the longer part as the longer part relates to the shorter. The Fibonacci sequence approaches the same number: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, each term the sum of the two before. Squares with these side lengths, joined by quarter circles, give the familiar Fibonacci spiral. Some architects, Le Corbusier among them, used such proportions to plan buildings, so the column is a fitting partner for the curve. The work is built on the 1.618 ratio, with the Fibonacci grid as its frame.

Its cream ribs and hard edges sit naturally among concrete, glass and brushed metal, so think of an entrance hall, a boardroom or a loft with steel shelving. On charcoal or stone the dark field merges with the wall and the spiral seems to hover; on white it becomes a crisp square block. A slim brushed-brass frame answers the gold bars, while thin black keeps it severe. Cool, even daylight brings out the relief best. At 50 cm or more it holds the wall above a long desk. Golden Fibonacci companions are The Sovereign Ledger and The Golden Flame. The file prints sharply to roughly 76 cm on the long edge at 300 dpi.