"Nemo Observatorium" - Winner Category "Interactive Art" Prix Ars Electronica 2009

Lawrence Malstaf (BE), Courtesy Galerie Fortlaan 17 - Gent (BE)

http://www.fortlaan17.com/eng/artists/malstaf

The Nemo Observatory is captivating in a way that is simultaneously disconcerting and hypnotic. Lawrence Malstaf (Belgium) utilizes five fans and a walk-though PVC cylinder to create a localized cyclone. Thousands of bits of polystyrene fly about through the air, with the observer situated right in the middle of it all—literally in the eye of the storm. Regardless of whether he/she focuses on particles whirling all about or looks past the flurry of material off into the distance, the tempestuous circumstances seem to exert an extraordinarily calming effect. This high-energy spectacle suddenly becomes a uniform, almost spellbinding sensory impression. With his Nemo Observatory, Lawrence Malstaf has succeeded in producing a high-impact allegory—an apt symbolic representation of our ever-more-rapidly changing world and our attempt to maintain our composure amidst the storm.

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Travel & Events

Tags:

• prox
• ars
• electronica
• interactive
• art
• 2009