About
The Four Shadows collection is an NFT gallery on OpenSeas containing artwork designed by Michael Rosola as an extension of Rosola Laboratories. These unique and ingenious pieces are painstakingly crafted in 4 dimensional space and their geometry algorithmically projected to 2 dimensional art. By their very nature these mathematical pieces are ephemeral and physically intangible yet extremely complex to create and so therefore rare and perfectly suited to be highly prized NFTs for the savvy and more sophisticated NFT collector.
4 dimensional art and shadows
Just as one can draw a 2d picture or create a 3d sculpture, 4d objects can be devised. Unlike with 2d or 3d art, we are unable to truly perceive four dimensions or the art created in it. An interesting phenomenon of shadows is that they are a representation of an object containing one less dimension. Just as the shadows of 3d objects have only 2 dimensions, the shadows of 4d objects have 3 dimensions. This gallery is based on this concept either by constructing 4d objects from 3d shadows or simply appreciating the 3d shadows of bespoke 4d objects. The final NFT pieces are the actual 4d data encoded into a 2d picture; this encoding is not a product of the data, it IS the 4d data flattened out which brings its own visual interest to appreciate.
Morse Hypercube Shadow puzzle
My first piece is in fact my most sophisticated and is my flagship NFT creation. It is actually a complex puzzle constructed using the shadows of a 4D hypercube that can be solved to reveal a secret message! This piece is so interesting it has an entire page dedicated entirely to its description, construction, puzzle and meaning. I strongly recommend you peruse it to understand what this piece truly represents and it also provides a good grounding on what these pieces are if you care to understand them a bit better. Detailed article: 4 Dimensional Morse Shadow Puzzle NFT
hypercube with triangular shadows
This piece is projected from a 4D hypercube that has been constructed to cast 3D shadows with triangular faces. The algorithmic 2D encoding yields a surprisingly gorgeous result.
Hypersphere cut by Right Triangle
This piece is projected from a 4D hypersphere that has been cut by a right triangle. The algorithmic 2D encoding is actually one of my personal favorites artistically.
Hypercube WITH HyperSpherical Core
This piece is a 4D hypercube that has its core cut out by a hypersphere and replaced by a smaller hypersphere. All four 3D shadows of this hypercube are the same. The super symmetrical nature of the piece causes the algorithmic 2D mapping to effectively magnify the face of the object.
Hypersphere
This piece is projected from a 4D hypersphere absent any modification. It’s four 3d shadows are simply spheres. I really enjoy how magical it is that the 2d algorithmic representation morphs the circles to square all in the shape of a circle; extremely satisfying.
Symetrical Hyperbauble
This is an interesting piece that casts four identical 3D shadows that are a very interesting bauble. It’s symmetry is truly represented in the algorithmic 2D representation in such a way that the image appears to actually be a magnified version of it; super interesting!
Hypercube with circular and triangular faces
This 4D hypercube was constructed from a series of 3D shadows with triangular, circular and square faces. The result is a 2D algorithmic rendering that I find somehow uncomfortable; I think perhaps it is the competing geometries. Art is intended to make you feel something, so I decided to present this piece despite how it makes me feel.
