Talk by Daito Manabe of Rhizomatiks, 'From Ramanujan to After Understanding', on October 10

KOTARO NUKAGA Tennoz is pleased to present ‘From Ramanujan to After Understanding‘, a talk by Daito Manabe of Rhizomatiks, on October 10, 2026, during the solo exhibition ‘After Understanding’.

A result can appear before we can explain it. Rhizomatiks’ After Understanding takes the interval between discovery and human understanding as its starting point. In this talk, Daito Manabe traces the process through which mathematical references to Ramanujan developed into a work that inscribes lines onto metal discs.

Some of the formulae left by the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan became the subject of decades of work on proofs and theoretical explanations. His mock theta functions, recorded near the end of his life, were studied by later generations of mathematicians and received a new theoretical framework some eighty years later. Recognizing the differences between human intuition and exploration using AI, the talk draws on this history to examine the relationship between discovery and understanding.

Rapid advances in AI-assisted mathematics have brought questions about verification, publication, credit for prior work, the role of researchers, and education into wider discussion. Excitement about new possibilities accompanies unease about changes to expertise and opportunities for people to think and learn. Mathematicians are asking how far the speed and number of solved problems can capture the work of developing understanding and sharing knowledge. AI developers and the mathematical community are also beginning to discuss how emerging results should be reviewed and communicated.

The artwork draws on mathematical structures connected to Ramanujan, alongside experimental formulae constructed for its production. Computed relationships become variations in the spacing and overlap of lines. Trajectories selected by the artist are inscribed onto metal discs through the rotational and radial movements of a polar-coordinate plotter. The speed of computation, the time of mechanical movement, the traces left in the material, and the time a viewer takes to perceive an order all meet within the work.

Using material from the production process, Manabe discusses the transformations from formulae to lines, from lines to machine movement, and from movement to physical traces, together with the choices made along the way. What is entrusted to AI and computation? What does the artist select, and take responsibility for bringing into the work? How do checking correctness, understanding meaning, and recognizing beauty or significance relate to one another? Encountering After Understanding, the talk considers how we create, learn, and exercise judgment in mathematics and art.

On October 10, the gallery will be open from 11:00 to 20:00 for MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2026. We look forward to welcoming you.

【EVENT DETAILS】
Title: ‘From Ramanujan to After Understanding‘
Speaker: Daito Manabe（Rhizomatiks）
Date: October 10, 2026, 17:15 – 18:00（Doors open at 16:45）
Venue: KOTARO NUKAGA Tennoz
Admission: Free
Reservation: Not required

【EXHIBITION DETAILS】
Rhizomatiks
‘After Understanding’
September 12 – October 17, 2026
11:30 – 18:00（Tue – Sat）
*Closed on Sun, Mon and Public Holidays
*During MEET YOUR ART FESTIVAL 2026, the gallery will be open during the following hours:
・October 9: 11:00 – 21:30
・October 10: 11:00 – 20:00
・October 11: 11:00 – 20:00
・October 12（national holiday）: 11:00 – 18:00
Venue: KOTARO NUKAGA Tennoz