FOR science buffs, yesterday afternoon's literature festival offering was an insightful lecture.

But for someone like me who isn't as up to speed on what makes the world tick scientifically, it was a mass of confusion.

However, Martin Kemp's discussion about his new book Seen And Unseen, and the theories it explored, still held interest.

Even to a scientific novice like me it did raise some questions that made sense and made me think about the connections between art and science.

He spoke about the similarity between art and science, and how both start at the same point, trying to get order from some form of chaos.

His lecture was supported by slides on the screen, showing how different shapes were formed.

The images Mr Kemp showed to illustrate how scientific theories could inspire breathtaking art were the most interesting part of the talk.

He gave examples of various structures around the world which were created using scientific logic but were open to interpretation as forms of art.

Apart from geometrical shapes and how they were transformed into art, he also spoke about splashes and folding, two forms of art that had taken on a whole new meaning through inspirational artists.

The most striking image shown was the process of a metal ball falling into milk, with before, during and after shots of the process.

Mr Kemp used that first image to then talk about making unique vases with the tops shaped like splashes.

In terms of folding, he said: "I became interested in this concept after I saw a painting of the Madonna and Child with the emphasis placed on the folds on her robe.

"It's surprising how static and unique this is. If you scrunch up a paper, the folds or creases that will appear will be completely different, if you try and do it again. It cannot be repeated.

He went on to explain that although art and science were quite similar, they were also very different. He said: "Art is all about keeping a piece of work open to interpretation, it doesn't ask you to think in a certain way. It's all about giving clues and letting the person who is seeing it decide what the subject matter is.

"Science is all about facts and proven theories and shutting down interpreting anything."