mereotopology

The study of whole-part and topological relationships, here used to explain how surface distortions affect the compositional void.

1 chapter across 1 book

Cyclonopedia: complicity with anonymous materials (2008)Reza Negarestani

1. As a compositional entity whose behavior (topological changes, transformations, motions, folds, etc.) can induce changes to the compositional side of the void through Surface Dynamics (or superficialities, as Cassati and Varzi call them in their holey treatise Holes and Other Superficialities).

This chapter explores the dynamic relationship between holes, surfaces, and the void, emphasizing how topological changes in solid structures induce transformations in the compositional void through surface dynamics. It argues that holes disrupt the traditional solidity (solidus) by introducing new, itinerant surfaces that challenge hegemonic ground orders and enable complex ecological interactions between solid and void. The chapter also distinguishes two types of active surfaces—surface-supporters and surface-transmitters—that mediate the interface between cavity and crust, highlighting the surface as the primary site of interaction, transformation, and transmission between solid and void.