Bárbara Muniz
Jagiellonian University, Brazil
Bárbara Muniz is a mathematician from Brazil who works in the intersection of representation theory and combinatorics.
the artwork
Deslize
Portuguese - Sliding - 2026 - digital
audio commentary
The classic puzzle depicted, a Jeu-de-Taquin, is also an important combinatorial transformation. What the artwork attempts to convey, however, is my experience with the research process. When you shuffle the pieces, trying to reconstruct the scrambled image, progress is gradual and uneven. You might even need to disrupt what looks like progress in order to move forward. Then, finally, if you go through this process and get to the end, what would be revealed is a drawing of me, just sliding in the water. Fun fact: Not all configurations are solvable, but this one is! Call it optimism.
Bárbara Muniz
Gradual and non-linear progress
mathematics in Brazilian culture
Brazilian music is characterized by its rich, layered percussion. Different instruments enter in repeating cycles, each with its own pulse, forming an intricate rhythmic composition. In samba, the surdo maintains a steady pulse while the tamborim and agogô create interlocking patterns that follow precise ratios. Forró is marked by the 2/4 beat structure of the zabumba and triangle, which gives its dance a distinctive signature. These polyrhythms emerge from the cultural practice itself, but they echo ideas of Fourier decomposition as complexity emerges from stacked simple, periodic components.
Bárbara Muniz
