Bamboozle could have been on display since the opening of MetaForum back in October if it hadn’t been for the fire at Plexiglas manufacturer Glance & Vision in Veldhoven. Still, Bamboozle was put up just in time for the New Year’s meetup of Mathematics & Computer Science. “It’s a wispy construction that looks best in a smaller area”, says assistant professor Verhoeff. At the advice of architect Ector it was decided to go for the grey area near the elevators, and he’s very pleased with that decision. “It’s the entrance to the Department of Mathematics & Computer Science, after all, and it’s especially used by guests. We’re still working on improving the lighting.”

The artwork consists of 51 equilateral triangles with sides measuring thirty centimeters in the colors red, yellow, blue, and green. The structure is quite extraordinary. Verhoeff: “The spatial structure of Bamboozle is interesting from a mathematical perspective because it’s uniquely determined by two characteristics: it’s not mirror-symmetrical, yet highly isotropic, meaning the same everywhere.”As if that’s not complex enough, Verhoeff adds: “230 spatial structures are known. The fact Bamboozle is uniquely determined by those two characteristics I just mentioned is therefore quite exceptional.” The structure has already been given many names, but personally Verhoeff thinks ‘triamond’ sounds best.

At the New Year’s reception faculty of mathematics and Computer Science will receive a miniature of the work as well as separate triangles with which they can give the structure a go themselves.

The work of art will not become part of the TU/e art collection, since it has not been made by professional artists, says art committee curator Gerard Verhoogt.

Here you can find an earlier interview with Tom Verhoeff about himself and the artwork, which he initially wanted to dub ‘Trism Lattice’. Bamboozle was thought up by his father.