In Parallel

Abstract

The film 'In Parallel' begins with the drawing of a straight line and is an exploration of Euclid’s Elements, a geometry book written in c.300BC. Second only to the Bible, in the number of editions published on the invention of the printing press, it has been influential in both mathematics and philosophy through the axiomatic structures that Euclid's work introduced. Referencing a particular edition by Oliver Byrne published in 1847 that involved for the first time a graphic conception, the film considers the history of the concept of a parallel line. Through a sequence of coloured drawn geometrical propositions including the vanishing point of linear perspective, the film reflects on how the shapes of thought in which our beliefs are expressed affect our perception of ourselves within our environment.