Maria Theodora Folina
CERN, Switzerland
Maria Theodora Folina is a computer scientist from Greece who works on algorithms and machine learning for science. She develops computational models for complex problems, from fundamental physics to Earth Observation pipelines.
the artwork
ΑΛΛΑΓΗ (ΣΤΟ ΣΠΙΤΙ ΤΩΝ ΦΥΛΛΩΝ)
Greek - Change (in the house of leaves) - 2026 - digital
audio commentary
I am fascinated by how algorithms mirror the human experience. To most, a house is a sanctuary. To a life spent crossing borders, it is a labyrinth. Inspired by “House of Leaves,” I used a polynomial lightning bolt to act as Ariadne’s thread; a mathematical guide through the maze of psychological flux. The worker is a modern Theseus, while the Minotaur represents inescapable roots, no matter how well I integrate into a new culture. Within this unpredictable system, Karl Peglau’s traffic light feels as fragile and heroic as the figure facing this collapsing architecture.
Maria Theodora Folina
The polynomial change of home from a stable sanctuary into a border-crossing labyrinth
mathematics in Greek culture
Ariadne’s thread from the Greek myth of Theseus is more than a legend; it is a human link between Greek heritage and computer science. It works like a backtracking algorithm: the traveller records a route, returns when a path reaches a dead end and tries another branch until the exit is found. This myth captures our universal need to navigate uncertainty: solving mazes, traversing graphs and searching decision trees. In my artwork, the red lightning becomes this thread, guiding the figure while also changing the system, bridging ancient storytelling with modern computational search.
Maria Theodora Folina
