Among Rockburne’s early mathematics-inspired works is 2, 4, 6, 8 (1969/70). The work consists of four stacked sheets of sequentially cut brown paper joined along their top edge. The forward-most sheet begins at two feet in length, and each subsequent sheet grows in two-foot intervals, concluding with the back-most sheet at eight feet long. Split vertically down the middle, the left side is covered with many layers of dense graphite, while the right is untouched. Rockburne’s combined use of treated and raw material demonstrates the innovative manipulation of everyday industrial elements that became iconic within her oeuvre. 2, 4, 6, 8 also reveals Rockburne’s early interest in set theory that led her to investigations of architecture and geometry in the natural world.