Impact

Acrylics on canvas board (30 cm x 50 cm)

This piece was inspired by my Masters project on topological insulators. The colour scheme is chosen to represent the phenomenon of band invention. It was explained in my earlier work as follows:

… The band gap closing and reopening with increasing pressure are apparent in the figure. Additionally, it demonstrates a definite change in the atomic orbital properties of the system. An inversion of energy bands occurs. This can be seen more clearly if we focus on valence or conduction bands exclusively. Cyan, purple and pink correspond to Bismuth, Tellurium and Iodine atomic orbitals respectively. Noticeably, at lower pressures, the valence band is mostly populated by Telluride and Iodide orbitals, while after the transition, there is a lot of Bismuth contribution in the middle. Therefore, we can claim that the topological phase transition occurs in the system. …

The idea of crossing bands, which changes their structure so substantially with such stability reminds me of people crossing each other’s paths. Some interactions leave a long-lasting impact.

Based on the early work of Denis Sarazhin.