04 Jul

Posted at 11:36h in
night geometries

digital photo series, 2017-ongoing

In this series of night photographs I focused on details of buildings and other architectural elements in the city. I searched for geometrical figures and patterns which emerge from the interplay of light and shadow. Reduced to simple and graphical shapes, the documented places seem taken out of their surroundings. They lose their recognisability and are virtually reduced to elementary building blocks of the urban environment.

28 Feb

Posted at 15:05h in
Nachtansichten

digital photo series, 2010-ongoing

When darkness falls in, we become aware of our dependence of light. To orient ourselves we light up places in our environment with the use of artificial lighting. By this, certain locations become the focus of attention at nighttime. Neon lights, street lamps and spotlights dissolve the places they illuminate from the endless darkness which surrounds them. Artificial light sources, serving as guidance or for decorative purposes, put certain parts of the city on focus, may it be planned or unintended. With this ongoing photo series I want to capture the special, often mysterious character ordinary places can have at night.

26 Feb

Posted at 15:07h in
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Floating shapes

video installation, HD video, 2014

Floating shapes is a video artwork in which minimalistic video recordings were put together to create the visual experience of constant flowing. Using the low key technique, the focus is laid on the structure of different materials and surfaces in a poetic way. Starting point for this piece was the fascination for light effects that can be seen in nature, for instance when sunbeams fall on a wall or are reflected on the surface of water. These so-called ‘found animations’ were mingled with staged scenes in which one can recognize the silhouettes of persons.  The video fragments could be short film scenes or fractions of our memory, inviting the viewer to make up his own story.

Category

installation, video

24 Feb

Posted at 15:06h in
luminous flux

video installation (vertical projection), 2016

Bright, naturally moving forms flow downwards a vertical projection screen. Sometimes the light is only visible for a fraction of a second and looks like thunderbolts. The abstract visuals are accompanied with an alienated mechanical sound. Although the projected imagery is reduced to a minimum of visual information, one can still recognize video recordings of drops of a fluid running down a surface. Luminous flux questions our perception of forms and surfaces. Besides, it is a visual study of the physicality of light and the way it behaves in space.

Category

installation

20 Feb

Posted at 07:46h in
  • b/w
  • b/w (inverted spaces)
b/w

photograph and lamp from lasercut wood, 2014

This combination of works was made in the framework of the project fleeting rooms which explores our perception of space at darkness. These works in particular play with the phenomenon that light is intangible. By creating a lasercut based on the visible parts of the photo b/w, the positive space in the photograph is transformed into negative space. At the same time, the deep black void surrounding the birch trees is materialized in the work b/w (inverted spaces).

Category

cross media, installation, photography

12 Feb

Posted at 14:08h in
slices of the manifold

Interactive installation, 2015

Though space is immutable, our perception of it is often versatile and depends on external factors. ‘Slices of the manifold’ is an interactive video installation, which reveals how the image of an unchanging place is influenced by the lighting. Depending on the viewer’s position in front of the video screen, the image of a forest constantly changes. To create this visual experience, a multitude of photos were taken of a birch forest at night. In each picture the trees were lit from a different angle, while the camera position never changed.

Category

cross media, installation

10 Feb

Posted at 13:48h in
images from thin air

video installation, 2014

This project is a study about our visual language and the quest for the essential element of an image. Inspired by cliche movie scenes which were collected and analysed, self-recorded film material was created. In these almost completely black video fragments the visual information is reduced to a minimum. The images, which literally emerge out of the void, are an experiment about our perception of what we call imagery.

The project was realized with the Hendrik de Vries Stipendium by Gemeente Groningen. The final sequences were presented as projections on diverse locations in public space in the city centre of Groningen in the beginning of 2014.

Category

cross media, installation

08 Feb

Posted at 14:22h in
fleeting rooms

digital photo series, 2014

In this series of long exposures I explored our perception of space by literally illuminating the dark. I searched for spaces in which I experienced the darkness as very present and engaging. Most of these pictures were taken in a baroque park with huge lawn fields and high hedges. In this peculiar uninhabited environment I installed spotlights to illuminate different elements in the park. Doing so, I put strangely shaped hedges or a left-behind tent into focus and let them become the setting for some mysterious occurrences.

Category

cross media, photography

07 Feb

Posted at 13:42h in
Cinematic Shivers

video installation, HD video, 7 minutes (looped), 2009

How do we define a film? If it consists of single photographs, where is the difference between both media? And, is there something in-between? Cinematic shivers consists of still photographs which are animated to short sequences by making use of the stop motion technique. The results are photographs in motion, reminding of film scenes, taken out of their logical and chronological context. The scenes give only tiny bits of information about what could have happened. But instead of building up a narrative, the sequences are mixed up in a seemingly random way. This artwork questions our viewing habits and tries to reveal the essence of visual storytelling. In contrast to film stills, the images in this work are intangible. Just as suddenly as they leap into view, they disappear again. Like the medium film they are time-based, yet there is no beginning or end as it would be in cinema.

Category

cross media, installation, video

06 Feb

Posted at 14:10h in
light objects

photographs in light boxes, 2014

These three ‘light objects’ consist of photographs of public spaces at night, which are presented in lightboxes. The idea behind this work was to let the photographed buildings become real objects again; and to let the documented street lights become real light sources. This work is a continuation of the concept behind the series Nachtansichten, a photo series documenting lit-up locations in public space.

Category

cross media, photography

04 Feb

Posted at 13:36h in
cineanalogies
Cineanalogies

multimedia project, 2011

The research project cineanalogies is a visual analysis of the language of cinema. Fascinated by the notion that certain stereotypic images appear in all kind of movies, I began to collect all the similar film stills I came across in an online database. Based on these images I created diverse artworks, like animations, video installations, illustrations and infographics. These works are presented online on www.cineanalogies.com and also in form of a book.

Category

cross media

03 Feb

Posted at 13:57h in
the origin of pace

live performance (video installation and dance), 18 minutes, 2012

The Origin of Pace is a performance with video and live dance, which was made in collaboration with Stichting GAVA. It was presented this summer at Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival in Groningen. Processed images from the GAVA archive are mingled with dance and music. The movement of the human body interplays with the repetitive element of machines. It is all about rhythm, repetition and the passage of time.

 

Concept and Video Production | Francesca Bardaro, Sarah Janssen and Eleanor Grootoonk
Music composition | Gianni Bardaro
Dance and choreography | Cinthya Oyervides

Category

cross media

03 Feb

Posted at 13:46h in
shadows

installation, projections in space, 2013

The installation ‘shadows’ consists of wall projections of shadows from different movies. Original movie scenes were edited in such a way that the impression is created that one is not seeing a video projection but real shadows. The installation is inconspicuous and almost invisible at first sight. Only once in a while a shadow of a mysterious man with a hat scurries around. The shadow, an important visual element of film noir, is extracted from its original movie and transferred into reality.

02 Feb

Posted at 22:14h in
the silver bullet

two-channel video installation, 2010

‘The silver bullet’ is an experimental video, dealing with the concept of technological singularity and the idea of creation of an artificial smarter-than-human intelligence. The title refers to human striving for perfection, invulnerability and immortality. By opposing found footage from TV commercials to self recorded material, the work illustrates our hopes and fears regarding technological progress and the idea of the perfect human.

Category

installation, video

02 Feb

Posted at 14:06h in
space observations
space observations

digital photo collection, 2008-ongoing

Space observations (http://spaceobservations.tumblr.com) is a digital collection of photos of elements in public space. I am interested in how we shape and treat the space we live in. With this ongoing documentary series I try to gain an objective insight on the relationship between humans and their (urban) environment.

Category

photography