Over the years Sir Roger has received a number of prizes and awards including the 1988 Wolf Prize (which he shared with Stephen Hawking for their understanding of the universe), Dannie Hinemann Prize, Royal Society Royal Medal and Albert Einstein Prize. His 1989 book The Emperor’s New Mind became a bestseller and won the 1990 Rhône-Poulenc Science Book Prize, and his later publications include Shadows of the Mind, from which the exhibition took its name.

Sir Roger has research interests in geometry, having made contributions to the theory of non-periodic tilings, relativity theory and the foundations of quantum theory. He has also contributed to the science of consciousness. Unlike many mathematicians, he handcrafts his explanatory drawings instead of using proprietary computer packages. Although they are obviously made for a specific reason, his images are extraordinary and compelling in their own right and point to intriguing similarities between how mathematicians, artists and others generate and employ self-constructed graphic languages to help them communicate their understanding of the world to other people.

The guide that accompanied the exhibition featured essays on the drawings by the artist and critic Simon Morley and Lee Smolin, Professor of Physics in the Center for Gravitational Physics and Geometry and Physics Department at Penn State University.

Commissioned by the Ruskin School of Art and supported by funding from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, The Elephant Trust, Southern Arts and Southern Arts Touring Exhibition Service.