Dutch Artist Theo Jansen is one of the lucky Dutch speakers whose speech made it onto TED.com, with a talk about his “strandbeesten” (”beach animals”). When we launched TEDxAmsterdam, he was one of the first people we invited to our advisory board.
The amazingly life-like kinetic sculptures Jansen builds from plastic tubes and lemonade bottles are designed to move – and even survive – on their own. They’re built to walk the Dutch coastline, feeding on wind and fleeing from water.
These days his creatures actually are crossing the globe in huge containers – this summer they are all off to Japan, for instance. And they appear in strange places, like this BMW commercial. To get an idea you can watch his 6 minute TED talk or the trailer below, which gives you a wonderful short impression of his work.
But we have something much better in store for you! Check your calendar right now…. on June 18, 19 and 20, Theo Jansen is taking his new Strandbeest out on the beach for the first time. On those three days, you can come to Scheveningen between 4 pm and 7 pm and witness the official ‘real-world’ trial of the Animaris Siamesis.
As Theo writes, “The Siamesis is a twin animal, which is armed against strong winds. The two animals hold each other and prevent in this way being blown over. It has the largest wind stomach untill now, so it can save a lot of spare wind. Since the wind has been the friend and enemy of the ’strandbeests,’ the Siamesis is a significant step in evolution.“‘
So this is an open invitation to all of you to come to the beach and witness evolution. And for those of you keen to meet some of the TEDxAmsterdam crew, let’s meet at de Fuut on Sunday June 20, 16.00! We’ll be there – hope to see you too!
June 20, 16.00, Strandpaviljoen de Fuut, south of the harbor of Scheveningen, detailed description here (in Dutch). Do you want to join us and meet the TEDxAmsterdam team? Drop us a line. (And please note: only cash payments at the Fuut, no pin.)
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