The Fibonacci series is a sequence of numbers starting with one, with each following number the sum of the two preceding: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and so on into infinity. It was popularised by the Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano Bigollo, commonly known as Fibonacci, in his book Liber Abaci (Book of Calculation) published in 1202.

Despite its simplicity, it is of profound significance, as examples of the series can be found everywhere in nature: in the branching of the limbs of trees, in the shape of a snail’s shell, in the number of petals on a flower, etc.

It is not to be found, however, in the De Panne sculpture, as alert mathematics teacher Dirk Huylebroeck recently discovered. Attard, who was paid €10,000 for the work by the De Panne city council, made a blunder. His series goes 1,597 … 2,584 … 4,541. That last number should be 4,181. De Panne mayor, Ann Vanheste, has demanded that the artist fix the mistake.

Attard tried to make the best of it. “It is indeed an artwork about perfection and infinity,” he told the VRT. “But it was made by a man, so there’s an error in it. That fits in perfectly with what I was trying to say.”