The new ambidextrous universe V

Tauba Auerbach’s art is inspired by systems of knowledge such as mathematics, physics, cosmology and language. She works across a diverse array of media to give these systems visual form, drawing our attention to their logic and structure while also introducing aspects of spontaneity and accident.

'The new ambidextrous universe V' belongs to a series of floor sculptures that began as large rectangular sheets of pine plywood mounted on aluminium that Auerbach cut into even thin, wavy strips and reassembled in reverse order, flipping the grain in the wood. She then reconfigured the rectangle by swapping strips from either end to create a disorientating asymmetrical mirror image. The title for the series comes from the influential book 'The ambidextrous universe' 1964 by Martin Gardner, which explores four-dimensional space and aspects of symmetry and asymmetry.