sandbox

sandbox
image/jpeg
1000 × 833

driessens & verstappen
sandbox, 2009
Wood, lacquer, metal, fans, sand, electronics, 245 x 122 x 176 cm
Supported by: Mondriaan Foundation, Ámsterdam
Acknowledgements: The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Architecture and Design, Ámsterdam
Courtesy: VOUS ETES ICI, Ámsterdam


Sandbox is a diorama in which a sand bed is continuously transformed by means of wind. There is no intention of simulating a downscaled version of an existing desert, but to build a generative system in which concrete materials like sand and wind are the shaping elements. The fans are switched on and off individually by a special algorithm. One can see rushing particles and sand drifts generating typical slopes. Now and then dust devils or avalanches will appear, or lees where lightweight particles seem to dance over the solid surface.