Saskia Kern
the artist
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany
Saskia Kern is a mathematician from Germany who works in arithmetic algebraic geometry. In her research, she focuses on the geometrization of (derived) F-zip cohomology in positive characteristic as a refinement of de Rham cohomology.
the artwork
Chaos und Ordnung
German- Chaos and order - 2025 - digital collage
0 days - 1 hours - 39 minutes
audio commentary
I really enjoy the category-theoretical part of my work, which is why it is depicted here. The same goes for zips, which play a central role for me! In the background of the artwork, one can find a stylized image of our department café’s blackboard, where a lot of thinking happens. There and in many other places where I do math, I feel torn between its rigid structures and order, and the fickle, fast-paced and sometimes unmanageable nature of my field, hence giving the artwork its name and vibe. In gaga/géométrie algébraique et géométrie analytique and Hom/How, one can find another duality.
Saskia Kern
computer science in German culture
There are many famous and prolific German mathematicians from the past few centuries, of whom I am proud. In recent years, however, German science has struggled with a lack of funding and science-based progress in many areas of society has stagnated (e.g., lack of digitalization, no high-speed internet, etc.). I have chosen an image depicting a sign from a protest, which highlights the chasm between the young populace and lawmakers.