Mesh Geometry — Artworks by Jonty Hurwitz & Dr. Yifat Davidoff

All three-dimensional forms — whether a classical sculpture, a digital character in a video game, or a finely crafted physical artwork — can be expressed as a mesh of triangles. In computer graphics and digital modeling, a 3D object’s surface is approximated by connecting many tiny triangles together, where each triangle’s vertices and edges define part of a shape in space. A triangle mesh is the most common way to represent complex surfaces because even intricate curves and contours can be closely approximated using millions of these simple elements.  Our brains are remarkably adept at interpreting these triangular structures. Just as the wireframe models used in gaming and film create convincing illusions of volume and depth on a flat screen, the network of triangles in a mesh provides visual cues — edges, shadows, and vertex relationships — that help our perceptual system construct a sense of three-dimensional form. In digital environments, this is the same technology that underpins realistic animation, immersive worlds, and special effects: millions of connected triangles define surfaces that feel solid and lifelike even though they are fundamentally mathematical abstractions.  Jonty Hurwitz’s mesh series deepens this dialogue between geometry and perception. Instead of merely using triangle meshes to represent a single shape, these works embed two different images — two “truths” — within the same mesh structure. Seen from one viewpoint, the arrangement of triangles resolves into one recognizable form; from another angle, a completely different image or narrative emerges. This artistic strategy plays with the way our visual system integrates information: the same underlying mesh can support multiple interpretations, depending on the observer’s position, light, and context. In a very real sense, these pieces make visible the ambiguity and richness of visual perception, using the foundational structure of 3D meshes to expand what a surface can mean to the viewer. By bringing together computational geometry and perceptual psychology, Hurwitz’s mesh works remind us that even the simplest mathematical primitives — a triangle’s three points and their connections — can support multiple realities simultaneously, inviting us to explore how form, space, and interpretation intertwine in both art and science.