In the organizer's words:

This lecture (in English) explores the unique proliferation of foldable, interactive paper illustrations in perspective and geometric treatises during the early modern period in Britain. From simple diagrams to complex articulated structures formed by the intersection of multiple planes, such 'movable diagrams' - as they were traditionally called - emphasize the importance of tactility in spatial representation. Foldable solids of varying complexity allowed readers to dissect the most elementary components of geometry, just as paper anatomies revealed the inner workings of the human body layer by layer.

This lecture explores how the seemingly innocuous folding of paper habituated hands and heads to the logic of grasping and appropriation, which was particularly useful in a time of colonial expansion. This will be followed by a workshop conceived in collaboration with Fari Shams, in which the audience is invited to fold and unfold shapes individually and together.

Pierre Von-Ow is a lecturer in early modern art history at the University of St Andrews, translator and curator. His work focuses on the intersections between art, knowledge and disability in the early modern period. From 2024 to 2025, Pierre was a fellow in art history at the Académie de France à Rome - Villa Médicis, where he studied the role of touch and blindness in the history of spatial representation. An article inspired by his research entitled "Touching Colors: Notes on the Making of Tact-similes" is forthcoming in the journal Studiolo (Spring 2026).