Emma’s tribute to ancient grafitti!
A 176 year old mathematical formula lights up the pavement at a Dublin Luas stop, thanks to the creative talents of Dundalk artist Emma Ray.
The sculpture is a tribute to the work of Irish mathematician William Rowan Hamilton who on 16 October 1843 had been out walking with his wife Helen along the banks of the Royal Canal from Dunsink Observatory to the Royal Irish Academy where he was President.
When he came to the spot at Broom Bridge, he had what was later described as ‘ that very rare occurrence in science - a Eureka moment.’
Emma told the Argus: ‘A solution to a problem he had been working on for a long time just came to him at that spot, and in his excitement, he took out his penknife and scratched his formula for the Quaternion algebra onto the bridge.’
Hamilton did not know the significance of his formula at the time, and indeed it was not put into use until a long time after his death, but the ‘Quaternions’ would later be instrumental in putting the first man on the moon and in modern times be used for CGI in movies.
‘ They are also used in a lot of everyday thing such as how your mobile phone screen moves,’ added Emma.
In 2018 the Royal Irish Academy, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority decided to mark the historic moment in world science by commissioning an artwork for the Luas stop at Broombridge through a competition open to students, staff and alumni of the nearby TU Dublin School of Creative Arts.
Emma, who graduated from DIT in Fine Art in 2013, won the commission, which she says has been ‘an incredible honour to work on.’
‘ The artwork is the story of his walk on 16 October 1843 and how the answer came to him in a flash and probably when he least expected it.’
She explains that it is a 3D sculpture, using fibre optic lighting to illuminate the footsteps of both Hamilton and his wife as they walked up to the point where he historically etched his formula on to the side of the bridge.
‘It is difficult to experience it fully in daylight,’ added Emma after the launch last week. ‘In the evening, you can see the footsteps of two people lit up. One set stops, which are meant to represent William’s wife. But his continues on to the point where he inscribed the formula on the side of the bridge.’
The inscription was effectively grafitti, added Emma, a trained tattoo artist, based at the Creative Spark Hub in Clontygora Drive.
‘I’m really proud to be associated with what will be a permanent tribute to this incredible achievement.’