In the Imaging maths series Plus explored how to visualise, transform and unfold strange geometric objects like the Klein bottle or the Möbius strip. Now Plus has come across a British artist who does just that, but without the aid of computers. John Pickering bases his work on one simple mathematical transformation, the inversion in a circle. His works are beautifully intricate 3D objects made up of 2D slices, with each slice and its relationship to the others worked out using honest and rigorous co-ordinate geometry.

Unfortunately, Pickering's work can't be seen on the web, so if you're interested in mathematical art, keep an eye out for one of his exhibitions. Alternatively, there is a book on Pickering's art called Mathematical form: John Pickering and the architecture of the inversion principle, published by the Architectural Association.