DRIESSENS & Verstappen
Hot Pool is a diorama in which a landscape of wax continuously transforms under the influence of melting and solidification phenomena. The installation is an autonomous generative system wherein candle wax and heat are the shaping elements. The ongoing process is visible for the audience through a small window.
A black container is standing on six metal legs. A window opening is located at the front. Inside the container the basic facilities are installed: 20 kg. of candle wax, 61 heating elements, fans, electronics and lighting. The heating elements are mounted underneath the bottom of the metal container. These elements are switched on and off individually by a special algorithm so that the candle wax melts locally and solidifies again after a while. Through expansion and shrinking during the melting and coagulation process an expressive landscape emerges that slowly changes in time. Year of production: 2010
BIOGRAPHY:
The Amsterdam based artist couple Erwin Driessens and Maria Verstappen have worked together since 1990. After their study at the Maastricht Academy of Fine Arts and the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam, they jointly developed a multifaceted oeuvre of software, machines and objects. Their research focuses on the possibilities that physical, chemical and computer algorithms can offer for the development of image generating processes. Driessens & Verstappen participated in numerous exhibitions in galleries and museums, they give lectures and presentations at universities, art academies, festivals and conferences in the Netherlands and abroad. In 1999 and 2001 their Tickle robot projects have been awarded first prize at LIFE, an international competition for Art & Artificial Life. Since 2001 the artists are represented by gallery VOUS ETES ICI, Amsterdam.