Senior Angela Zhou beginning installation of her mixed media exhibition, “Correlation Theory of Statistically Optimal Systems.” Photo by Justin Goldberg

The Program in Visual Arts at the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University will present “Correlation Theory of Statistically Optimal Systems,” a mixed media exhibition by senior Angela Zhou that explores the visual archaeology of advertising material in an urban environment in relation to mathematics. The work will be on view May 2 through May 6 in Room 301 at 185 Nassau Street. A reception with the artist will be held on Thursday, May 5 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. outside of Room 301. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Zhou, a Marlboro, NJ native, is a major in the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering, and is pursuing a certificate in the Program in Visual Arts. Zhou had worked in traditional media like painting and drawing before coming to Princeton, however courses in cultural and media studies provided new and different ways of viewing the world than she encountered in her studies in engineering.

Zhou’s exhibition examines two different but parallel interests. Through photographs of stickers and other forms of print advertising posted in urban environments, she explores a visual system she describes as “at once inscrutable and ubiquitous.” Through additional photographs and text she traces the language of diagrams and visualizations in mathematics.

After graduating from Princeton, Zhou plans to pursue graduate school in engineering but hopes to continue working on art projects related to research practices.

The exhibition will be open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.