Euclid's Bastard

In "Euclid's Bastard or Timeo mathematica et dona ferentes", Christof D. depicts the 'gift' of geometry and the burden it has placed on humanity. The viewer is first struck by a large structure dominating the canvas. Is it a giraffe? A water tower? The terrifying answer in store for the viewer is that it's a horse. Geometric lines have replaced the natural curvature of the horse's body, stripping it of its beauty, nay of its vitality. The message is clear: mathematics and geometry have deadened life on earth. Yes, THAT mathematics — universal in its nature, pure in its biases and infinite in its promise to help us understand the heavens. All rubbish, says Christof. He loads the beast with manure and its filth infects the stars and even the sun. Disturbing elements are everywhere. The creature's tilted and towering neck emerges midway through its torso, refuting the idea that mathematics is leading. On top sits a triangular head that evokes the mythical Sphinx, traditionally considered both treacherous and merciless. Extra filth is smeared across it as it mocks the viewer with its irregular and outsized ears. Down below, its feet crush humanity into rectangular conformity. Even mountains, nature's great barriers, pose no threat. Oceans neither. In Christof's telling, mathematics will dominate and subdue all it encounters. Indeed, it is his answer to the troubling question William Butler Yeats raised in his Second Coming: "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last / Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" Does humanity have any recourse in face of this tyranny? Christof encodes a solution in the blue spirals in the top right, placed deftly as the beast looks away. What is this message? Quite simply, take water and scrub away all vestiges of geometrically constructed art. All of it! That's humanity's escape, and its salvation. Christof metaphorically starts with his own work. He's cut the corners out, creating an irregular, non-geometrical circle frame for the message. Look close and you can see dried water drops in places — destruction by a full wetted sponge is imminent. He's ready to sacrifice it all. The question he asks is "Are you?"