2019 HATalk Competition Entry

Ruby Martin

Ruby Martin – Hong Kong

The Golden Ratio

Description

I was very inspired by the theme of “equilibrium” as it is such an important aspect of millinery.

Firstly, physically.

One of the biggest challenges with my larger headpieces is keeping the balance and centre of gravity just right on the wearer’s head to make it comfortable and functional as wearable art, and so that the weight of the headpiece itself doesn’t pull it off the head. It is one of the stages I most enjoy, the “how can I build that?”

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, aesthetically.

When designing hats, we are looking for designs that complement the wearer’s face, that make our hearts sing. Like all art, we are seeking balance, harmony and symmetry.

I thought back through art, architecture and nature’s use of balance to create beauty, and I came to the idea of the Golden Ratio, the mathematical sequence that appears in all aspects of the universe from atoms, nature’s leaf arrangement, hurricanes, the solar system, and even in our DNA.

Artists throughout history have used the golden ratio to create a balance that pleases the senses and makes us feel. Think of the Mona Lisa, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the pyramids of Giza and the Parthenon, all created using the building blocks of one series of numbers.

I wanted to use the Fibonacci sequence in the base of my design, with each cube/octahedron block increasing organically through the sequence- 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 cm.

The curve as it spirals out echoes the spirals of nature following the Golden Spiral, as do the colours of cream and waves of blues and golds.

The cream washi has equilateral triangles as a juxtaposition to the flowing waves, as well as being a nod to the mathematics that creates beauty and equilibrium.

Materials