Project name
Een onwaarschijnlijk super event
(An Unlikely Super event)
Client
Nikhef
Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch
Location
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Control solution
MADRIX
Engineering
Jop Vissers
Vorstenbosch
Lighting designer
Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch
DiGidot partners
N.A.
Photo & video credits
Svetlana Semenova
DiGidot products
The Story
This October we visited Jop Vissers Vorstenbosch, a multidisciplinary artist who was busy working on his latest art piece, "Een onwaarschijnlijk super event" (An Unlikely Super Event), for the entrance lounge of Nikhef, the National Institute for Subatomic Physics in Amsterdam. The institute commissioned an art installation reflecting their ongoing research of the ALICE experiment - a laboratory study that recreates the events of heavy-ion collisions that happened during the Big Bang, seconds into our universe’s existence.
Jop was commissioned to envision this glimpse of a second in the "beginning of time". Seeing as his work is as pioneering as Nikhef’s research, this collaboration made perfect sense. Jop’s works stand at the intersection of classical art and visual media, combining elements of oil painting with dynamic lighting in unique, perfect synergy.
How light became an inspiration
“I needed to add an ingredient to classical painting to be more in this time,” says Jop when asked why he chose to work with light as a medium for his art. To him, this is an unconventional element that makes his work stand out from the rest — more innovative, fresh and attractive. “If you just put a painting here, nobody will look at it — you need a lot of force to catch somebody’s attention.” While his true passion is still in painting, he found this force in light and discovered a unique way to bring it to life.
“I specifically picked a DiGidot C4 controller for this project because it allows me to set different triggers. I want this artwork to move and change with time so that it’s different throughout the day and sets different moods for every season.” In cases like these, where the installation is permanent and requires durability, DiGidot controllers are a reliable stand-alone solution.
Jop’s inspiration came from visiting Detroit and seeing old fluorescent signs used for commercial buildings. They were broken down, and because of that he could see their structure from the inside. He loved the duality of seeing the front and the back of those signs, the interpolation of art and technology - and that’s what made him think of his next creation.
An Unlikely Super Event
The art piece itself reflects that same notion. At first glance, it’s reminiscent of a scientific machine - an elaborate structure that combines different materials. It has eight layers of plexiglass canvases illuminated by a pixel-panel wall from behind, with a glass-layered 'bubble chamber' at the front. This chamber is made of 41 perpendicular slats with laser-cut etchings, each one illuminated with an LED strip at the top and bottom. The complexity of this construction gives the piece more dimension and movement - crucial elements for public space artworks like these.
Each of the eight paintings represents a scientific field and revolves around the research that’s being conducted by Nikhef. For instance, one of the main canvases depicts the event of the collision itself. He loaded his paintings into Madrix, animated them and set different scenic transitions to manipulate the colours. “We try to see it, that’s the whole thing,” he says when asked how to embody something intangible - “it’s about curiosity, trying to investigate something that we don’t see.”
Behind the artwork
At the back of the piece is an 11x6 pixel-panel wall, which comprises over 5,500 pixels in total. This is the first time Jop is working with digital lighting at such scale. To achieve the dynamic movement effect, he controls the pixels with the 12-channel DiGidot C4 Extended. This model became available with our software update a few months ago. Until recently, the number of channels for DiGidot C4 Extended went up to just eight. Now, it’s a more cost-efficient option for projects of similar size.
Now you can find Jop’s artwork proudly displayed at the entrance of Nikhef in Amsterdam. The DiGidot team is pleased to work with lighting artists and help them realise their vision as they intend it to be. “I really enjoy every opportunity I get to work with creative projects like these. Jop reached out to me for some help on the technical side, and I provided my recommendations. For me, it’s also a learning curve - I’m discovering more of the behind-the-scenes and getting inspired on how we can take our products even further,” says Dennis Morren, Senior Embedded Developer Officer.
