gesture series

Collaboration with artist Natalia Cincunegui

'By a serial repetition of ideas and motives I try to come nearer the “right” form - crucial gestures enlarged by cinematographic close-ups capturing some of the drama of this human epos we are destined living. Aiming thus what I call the wrong shape; never aesthetically correct or decorative; a broken Hallelujah, remaining unfinished.

In my work text is crucial; images accompanied by own phrases next to great ones. An intuitive search hungered by longings. Except of my daily [inner] life, The Book of Job, gospels, pop song lyrics, drama and cinema nourish my thoughts and images.

Although my work speaks about what it is to be human in inhuman times, it is never explaining nor sentimental; it is about everything that troubles me and others with me. If a way to the better there be, it lies in taking a full look at the worst.

Through references and details the topic of what I call Contemporary Cruelty is stressed in my work, revealing an unsentimental view on the victims of sins such as conformism and cowardice, this institutionalised race that can sympathize with everything; except suffering.

Being a human being I am very much aware of how fragile the line is between being legal and illegal, justice and injustice, of good and evil. Everything might be repeating itself, yet it has taken a more sophisticated and sterile form. I therefore find myself in Bernard Shaw’s words: Let us blush over the far more hypocrite and pretentious savagery of our times.

Religion is being used and abused, speaking of God out of fashion, despite all this my work is inspired by this Familiar stranger.

Remarkable it is when people are concerned weather my work is contemporary or not, living in this given period of time, I am necessarily within “our” time and therefore voluntarily or not contemporary.'


Test sequences from the gesture project:




The scenes were taken from the following rehearsal footage.  This footage was taken during studio time gathering and working on material to be used for a possible motion capture project.





Preliminary stills from video.
These images were part of a preliminary short exercise looking at gestures.
 
                                                                                                                click image to enlarge

To see more of Natalia's work look here

 

Shall I Betray (2006) Ink + crayon on paper 

  

De dos (2004-05) Ink+ crayon on paper 

  

Come on son (2006) Ink + crayon on paper

peter sellars on vocal creative dialogue

Project: Interview by Anthony Heidweiller with opera director Peter Sellars on vocal creative dialogue. The interview was used as a keynote speech at the annual Youth Opera conference in Utrecht.
Role: audio engineer for De Zure Appel.


"When you say dialogue, I say reciprocity. For me I don’t want dialogue just to be read as something that involves words. It is so important that dialogue happens in every possible way and it is just that every action is reciprocal."
Peter Sellars

snoezel object

Project type: waag society project
Role: research, prototyping, user testing

The objective of this project was to develop a prototype for a mobile sneozel object.
A sneozel object stems from snoezelen therapy which was defined in the late 1970's by two Dutch therapists, Jan Hulsegge and Ad Verheul. While working at the De Hartenberg Institute in the Netherlands, a center for people with cognitive disabilities, the two therapists learned of the positive responses a colleague was able to elicit from his severely challenged clients when they were exposed to a sensory environment he had assembled. The environment stimulates the primary senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell, through the use of lighting effects, tactile surfaces, meditative music and the odor of relaxing essential oils.

The following is a brief overview of my project process and outcome.

Inspiration

Boda Blocks- Dynamic Patterning and wind board Leah Buechley

Interactive throw pillows containing intelligence touch sencing surface by Thecla Schiphorst

 

 

Idea's
Thoughts on objects, spaces and playful empty prototypes

Smart fabrics and the work of Marina Toeters.
Marina's work focuses on design and research in fashion technologies.

 

The Concept

Interactive snoezel objects

The interactions between objects.

Incorporating theories of gradual exposure therapy.

Outcome and user testing

Theses objects were the final prototypes.

User testing, at this stage, was done with children without disabilities in order to monitor objects working parts.

 

antwerp days

We went to anterp to avoid the queensday madness.  We have decided to alternate each year, as sometimes to get out early and go shopping on queensday is a nice time to find some treats.

faint vibrations

Project: Conny Groenewegen

PreludeFall/winter 08/9 Salon
Role: assistant, seamstress, ironing, running

'The collection of Conny Groenwegen is a mix of pret a porter and couture.

She uses sophisticated materials and a combination of hand craft, semi hand craft and digital
techniques to realise her designs. Voluminous coats are structured by a hand knit layer second layer giving shape to the leather, invisible for the eye though indispensible for the shape and the touch.

The contours of a trenchcoat are folding over the remains of a corset, layers of materials with  different characteristics show as well the ambivalent complexity that onnected to this time and give contrast to the inside room and the  outsite skin of the designs. Never the less you sense with the  woman that is represented on the catwalk a strong curiousity for the future and an optimistic belief in her own contribution.'

 

A little look backstage.

Conny enjoying the collection

This video is not the best quality, but gives a little idea of the show.

der lauf der dinger & max msp

This was one of my most favourite school projects while I was at Design for Virtual Theater and Games in Utrecht.
The idea was to be inspired by Der Leuf Der Dinge, a 1987 art film by the Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss.  It was also a chance for us to play with the programing software Max MSP.

I loved it so much I made a little film about it.