Public Sculpture: Kunstwerk-Almere by Geert Mul
On February 1, 2023, the public artwork of Geert Mul was opened at the renovated Central Station of Almere. Kunstwerk-Almere expressly seeks a relationship with the renovated station area. It is synchronized with the seasons, changing color with the first and last daylight colors at every sunrise and sunset. Different from the daily train passengers who are synchronized with the clock. Different styles and media collide in the work; photography, illustrations from the 1930s, samples of public artworks in Almere, picturesque elements and digital glitches.
READ MOREAlmere is a city that is immediately associated with water; a country born of water. The city is a symbol of post-war optimism, culture as a triumph of Nature. But the harmful effects of climate change are becoming more visible and tangible. The scientists and environmentalists of the 1970s were right: there is a limit to how much the planet can tolerate the war we wage against nature. If we don’t stop dividing our world into culture and nature, we will destroy ourselves. Art doesn’t solve problems, but art can add an extra dimension to public space and offer a different way of “looking.” The Almere artwork reflects on the relationship between water and Almere. Do we see the sea from which Almere was built or a future Almere like Atlantis 2.0?
ABOUT Geert Mul
Born in 1965 in Alphen aan den Rijn, NL
Lives and works in Rotterdam, NL
Geert Mul has been exploring for over 25 years the possibilities of a poetry in the language of new media. This resulted in a flow of experimental artworks in a wide range of media: prints, light-objects, video and interactive/generative computer installations. In Mul’s works, the interrelationship between technology, media and perception is a central theme. Mul’s practice engages the broader public through commissioned artworks in public space.
Geert Mul studied art from 1985 -1990 at the HKA Arnhem where he graduated with computer animations, video and kinetic sculptures. After his studies, he traveled in Mexico, the United States and Asia. He resided for one year in Tokyo. Since 1993 Mul lives and works in Rotterdam, Holland. In the mid-1990s, Mul became one of the first VJ’s, in the alternative Techno scene. These events grew into interactive audio-visual environments, commissioned artworks and installations which were exhibited in a variety of contexts: public space, museums and festivals. Mul has produced over 20 commissioned art installations and exhibited at the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen Rotterdam, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, The National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto Japan, Museo Nacional Reina Sofia Madrid, Institute Valencia Arte Moderne, Museum of contemporary Art Chicago.
Geert Mul teaches “Unstable Media” at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie (DogTime).
