Impossible Patterns is a projection-mapped installation exploring aperiodic tiling - patterns that never repeat but still hold a clear internal structure. The work translates these mathematical ideas into a large-scale, spatial experience, using light and movement to make complex systems perceptible.

The project was developed in collaboration with researchers from the University of Leeds, including Alastair Rucklidge and Merin Joseph. The process involved testing how these patterns could be generated, manipulated and visualised, shifting them from abstract theory into something physical and time-based.

At the centre of the work is the discovery of an “Einstein” tile by David Smith - a single 13-sided shape that tiles infinitely without repeating. This long-standing mathematical problem became a key reference point, informing both the structure and behaviour of the visuals.

Projection mapping is used to extend these patterns across architectural surfaces, breaking them across edges, corners and depth. As the piece unfolds, patterns grow, split and reconfigure, maintaining a sense of order while continually avoiding repetition. Changes in scale, density and rhythm create moments where the system feels stable, before shifting again.

Impossible Pattern brings together mathematics and spatial practice, creating a way to experience pattern as something active - structured, but never fixed.