A Dutch artist renowned for his moving sculptures will be feted with a show focused on the achievements of his artistic life. Theo Jansen originally conceived his wind-powered sculptures as a way to help prevent beach erosion and flooding during storms. But these useful and whimsical creations eventually took on lives of their own as the artist became more emotionally invested in them, referring to them as his beach animals.
In a touching decision that highlights just how much each work means to him, Jansen refers to the older models of his sculptures that no longer move as fossils, showing just how alive he actually believes them to be. When they are moving, however, the sculptures are a sight to behold. Jansen uses a deep understanding of biology and engineering to ensure that these sculptures move effortlessly along shorelines with topography of all kinds. The spindly framework — often made of ordinary plastic piping — coupled with billowing sails to harness the wind call to mind something out of a fantasy, an artistic machine built for a purpose.
The show at Singapore will reflect on Jansen’s life’s work. Though there will be no wind inside the Singapore Art Museum to highlight the movement of the creatures, the exhibit will be immersive and interactive. Participants will be able to drag one of the sculptures along the exhibit space so they can witness for themselves how the beasts come to life. Visitors will also get an inside look at Jansen’s creative process as well as the work that goes in to creating the creatures.
Many of the creatures indeed appear to be alive, accounting for Jansen’s belief that they are a new species. Their flexible spines and bones move with the wind, sails undulating in the breeze, or appendages propelling them along. Jansen said that someday, he will set them free on the beaches they were originally designed to protect, allowing them to live out the rest of their existence in whatever way they choose. Perhaps in hundreds of years, future humans will discover the fossils of Jansen’s work and marvel at the beasts who used to roam the shores.
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Read more about the moving sculptures — and see a video featuring them in action — at https://www.star2.com/culture/2018/05/21/theo-jansen-strandbeests-insallation-machine-wind-artscience-museum-singapore/.