Dutch national treasures celebrated with Elation
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In 2018, Kuijer, known for light installations around The Netherlands since the late 1970s, visited the Elation booth at the ISE fair in Amsterdam, where initial discussions of the project took place with Elation key account manager for Benelux Bert Schmeits. During a subsequent visit to the Elation showroom in Kerkrade, it became clear to the artist that he could realize the creative ideas he had in mind for the building using Elation lighting. After various tests and demos on location at the CC NL facility, the project was realised using 28 Proteus Rayzor 760 moving heads, a 7,200-lumen wash light housing seven 60W RGBW LEDs and 5- to 77-degree zoom.
The four-story, nearly 25m-high storage facility, often referred to as the physical memory of The Netherlands, is located in the city of Amersfoort. The building’s façade, made of Kalzip aluminium with vertical seams that create extra shades, proved an excellent canvass for Kuijer’s art.
Lined along multiple sides of the building and mounted on steel bases produced by CMS (Custom Made Steelproducts) of the Netherlands, the Proteus Rayzor 760 fixtures project beams of soft white light that move very slowly in random directions across the building’s exterior. Variations in the direction and intensity of the light, as well as the expanse of the beams and the slow speed of their motion, give rise to ever-changing compositions.
“The good thing about the Proteus Rayzor is that they are able to withstand the Dutch weather without any protection,” Kuijer comments. “And secondly, they are capable of making these very slow movements which are crucial in this work. I only use moving white light of which the intensity and the size of the beams are changing through a random program. Because of the random programming, the images that appear on the walls are permanently changing and always unique. The light casts a soft shroud over a hard building.”
He continues, “The four different museums that store their collections inside the building are trying to slow down time by conserving their art pieces. On the outside, the light represents ever-flowing time.”
The art installation, which debuted on 20 January 2021, is visible every morning and evening. The Elation lights were supplied via Output of Den Bosch (Netherlands) and installation was realised by Vidi-Square from Zandhoven in Belgium. “I was very lucky to work with Vidi-Square who delivered excellent service,” the light artist said. “They put me in contact with Painting with Light whose Jeroen Opsteyn did the programming for me. We first prepared the programming on screen in their studio then executed the final programming on site.”
Collection Centre of The Netherlands also stores works of art from the Holland Open Air Museum, Paleis Het Loo Museum, and the Cultural Heritage Agency of The Netherlands. The 31,500sq.m archive is a collaboration among the four cultural institutions and includes facilities for administration, conservation and research. Some 3,700sq.m of solar panels make the building completely energy self-sufficient – an energy source that also powers the light art installation.
