Since the outbreak of COVID-19, a recent graduate of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta has been using his overlapping interests in law, mathematics and visual art to fundraise for those in need.
Landon Haynes, '19 JD/MBA, uses a mathematical analysis of statutes and case law to create artistic graphs that visually represent how the pieces of legislation are structured. The circular graphs have colourful lines radiating from a central point, showing how the legislation is divided into sections and subsections.
He recently launched his website, Canada's Legal Anatomy, where he sells prints of his creations.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, all profits of his print of the Quarantine Act - a piece of legislation that has generated considerable interest during the public health crisis - go to the Canadian Red Cross.
"I see a lot of connection between mathematics and law," said Haynes. "They are both very logic based."
Mathematics was Haynes' first passion; he completed undergraduate degrees in mathematics and physics, before working as a judicial clerk at the Edmonton courthouse.
"That is where I fell in love with the law," he said.
Haynes' time as a judicial clerk motivated him to pursue law school, and he completed the joint JD/MBA program in 2019. He is currently a student-at-law at Witten LLP.
His artwork started as a hobby during law school that attracted attention when he posted his creations to social media. He realized the demand was there to share his work with the general public.
Haynes' artistic process starts with running a computer program to extract data of how the legislation is organized into headings, sections, or paragraphs. He then uses that data to create a graph, working with different colour schemes to make the graphs visually engaging.
Graphs range from the Business Corporations Act to 2019 at the Supreme Court of Canada to the Constitution Act.
Haynes accepts commissions and customizations of his prints if clients are looking for a certain piece of legislation or colourway. He has created personalized graphs as unique gifts for lawyers and members of the judiciary that celebrate memorable bodies of work.
Haynes' art also has practical applications. In one graph, Haynes compares the first enactment of the Criminal Code with how it has evolved.
"You can easily see how bloated and complicated the Criminal Code is as of now," Haynes said, noting there have been numerous calls for reform.
"If you're just looking at a textbook, you can't appreciate how it is structured and how complicated it actually is," he said. "This particular product shows how in need the Criminal Code is of amendments and redrafting."