Philip Vermeulen

Philip Vermeulen’s immersive installation Chasing The Dot (2021-ongoing) is an intense multisensory experience, exploring immense depth and physicality of color, in the setting of a large Ganzfeld space.

Philip Vermeulen’s immersive installation Chasing The Dot (2021-ongoing) is an intense multisensory experience, exploring immense depth and physicality of color, in the setting of a large Ganzfeld space.

Philip Vermeulen’s immersive installation Chasing The Dot (2021-ongoing) is an intense multisensory experience, exploring immense depth and physicality of color, in the setting of a large Ganzfeld space. While enveloping the audience – comfortably seated on a custom shaped couch – in a diffuse, glowing field of light and color, eliminating the horizon and making the shape and boundaries of the light-filled space disappear, visitors are confronted with the concept of watching with your ears and listening with your eyes. Synesthesia, a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to unexpected experiences in another, is a strong theme in Vermeulen’s body of work. As part of ongoing research, the artist creates various poems of light, color and after images; each exhibition comes with bespoke compositions, as part of an experimental process, resulting in a constantly evolving choreography. As color manifests in Chasing The Dot, light becomes material, and visitors will experience a large, fluctuating dot appearing right in front of them when allowing themselves to dissolve in Chasing The Dot. From that moment on, wherever you look, the dot is right there – in the centerpoint of your vision. Chasing The Dot comes from chasing phenomena, from after images to flicker-induced hallucinations – once intensity occurs, the work finally takes over the viewer’s perception and experience of the space.

You Are Here is the result of extensive studies on colour and material, aiming to visualise the "dot" that appears in one's vision, at moments of engaging with Chasing The Dot. Premiering at Vermeulen's first large scale solo show, at Rijksmuseum Twenthe, the work holds a central position within the exhibition, inviting viewers to engage with its changing hues and dynamic presence. Focused on the fluidity of color transitions, You Are Here slowly pulsates light, shifting through a spectrum of colours while playing with perception and spatial presence in a pitch dark room.

Here You Are is the result of extensive studies on colour and material, aiming to visualise the "dot" that appears in one's vision, at moments of engaging with Chasing The Dot. Premiering at Vermeulen's first large scale solo show, at Rijksmuseum Twenthe, the work holds a central position within the exhibition, inviting viewers to engage with its changing hues and dynamic presence. Focused on the fluidity of color transitions, You Are Here slowly pulsates light, shifting through a spectrum of colours while playing with perception and spatial presence in a pitch dark room.

You Are Here is the result of extensive studies on colour and material, aiming to visualise the "dot" that appears in one's vision, at moments of engaging with Chasing The Dot. Premiering at Vermeulen's first large scale solo show, at Rijksmuseum Twenthe, the work holds a central position within the exhibition, inviting viewers to engage with its changing hues and dynamic presence. Focused on the fluidity of color transitions, You Are Here slowly pulsates light, shifting through a spectrum of colours while playing with perception and spatial presence in a pitch dark room.

Fanfanfan is a series of "hyper sculptures", 3D shapes rotating at very high speed. White light is projected on them, which interfere with the rotating materials. An astonishing colour spectrum emerges, accompanied by all kinds of fascinating stroboscopic phenomena.

Fanfanfan is a series of "hyper sculptures", 3D shapes rotating at very high speed. White light is projected on them, which interfere with the rotating materials. An astonishing colour spectrum emerges, accompanied by all kinds of fascinating stroboscopic phenomena.

Fanfanfan is a series of "hyper sculptures", 3D shapes rotating at very high speed. White light is projected on them, which interfere with the rotating materials. An astonishing colour spectrum emerges, accompanied by all kinds of fascinating stroboscopic phenomena.

More Moiré² is a kinetic panoramic installation that creates an immersive landscape of moiré patterns. A curtain of layered mesh material encircles the visitor. Two motors slowly rotate the sheets of mesh, and as the grid patterns interfere with each other, the viewer is drawn into the continuous movement of moiré patterns. Gradually, a still white void transforms into a shifting abstract landscape around the viewer. The installation explores the dissonance between the experience of incorporeal digitality and material corporeality. It compels our senses to reset and amplifies our awareness of our bodily existence. More Moiré² was jointly commissioned by Sonic Acts and W139 and supported by The Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, Re-Imagine Europe, and The University of Twente. Polyester, LED lights, mesh curtain, linear stages.

More Moiré² is a kinetic panoramic installation that creates an immersive landscape of moiré patterns. A curtain of layered mesh material encircles the visitor. Two motors slowly rotate the sheets of mesh, and as the grid patterns interfere with each other, the viewer is drawn into the continuous movement of moiré patterns. Gradually, a still white void transforms into a shifting abstract landscape around the viewer. The installation explores the dissonance between the experience of incorporeal digitality and material corporeality. It compels our senses to reset and amplifies our awareness of our bodily existence. More Moiré² was jointly commissioned by Sonic Acts and W139 and supported by The Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, Re-Imagine Europe, and The University of Twente. Polyester, LED lights, mesh curtain, linear stages.

More Moiré² is a kinetic panoramic installation that creates an immersive landscape of moiré patterns. A curtain of layered mesh material encircles the visitor. Two motors slowly rotate the sheets of mesh, and as the grid patterns interfere with each other, the viewer is drawn into the continuous movement of moiré patterns. Gradually, a still white void transforms into a shifting abstract landscape around the viewer. The installation explores the dissonance between the experience of incorporeal digitality and material corporeality. It compels our senses to reset and amplifies our awareness of our bodily existence. More Moiré² was jointly commissioned by Sonic Acts and W139 and supported by The Netherlands Film Fund, Creative Industries Fund NL, Re-Imagine Europe, and The University of Twente. Polyester, LED lights, mesh curtain, linear stages.

Ocular Drift is a composed landscape of light, sound, and dizzying moiré patterns. Subtle changes in the white light of the space make the properties of the patterns continuously change, leading to a disruptive confrontation between the physical installation with the sensory experience of the viewer, and the materiality of their own bodies. This intriguing paradox in the experience of intangible digitality and material physicality raises questions about the blurring of boundaries between the physical and the virtual in our digital age.

Ocular Drift is a composed landscape of light, sound, and dizzying moiré patterns. Subtle changes in the white light of the space make the properties of the patterns continuously change, leading to a disruptive confrontation between the physical installation with the sensory experience of the viewer, and the materiality of their own bodies. This intriguing paradox in the experience of intangible digitality and material physicality raises questions about the blurring of boundaries between the physical and the virtual in our digital age.

Ocular Drift is a composed landscape of light, sound, and dizzying moiré patterns. Subtle changes in the white light of the space make the properties of the patterns continuously change, leading to a disruptive confrontation between the physical installation with the sensory experience of the viewer, and the materiality of their own bodies. This intriguing paradox in the experience of intangible digitality and material physicality raises questions about the blurring of boundaries between the physical and the virtual in our digital age.

When first entering the pitch-dark space where Pulse is installed, one appears to be looking at a bare wall or a large, black projection screen. A soft growling becomes audible but is gradually and insistently taken over by the sounds of the installation's laboring machinery, continuously growing louder in volume. The screen begins slowly pulsating, - moving and changing as if the wall is coming alive. Movements are sensual and dark. Subtly, the lighting fades in and out in different shades of grey, light waves pushing from the center towards the edges of the space in undulating movements.

When first entering the pitch-dark space where Pulse is installed, one appears to be looking at a bare wall or a large, black projection screen. A soft growling becomes audible but is gradually and insistently taken over by the sounds of the installation's laboring machinery, continuously growing louder in volume. The screen begins slowly pulsating, - moving and changing as if the wall is coming alive. Movements are sensual and dark. Subtly, the lighting fades in and out in different shades of grey, light waves pushing from the center towards the edges of the space in undulating movements.

When first entering the pitch-dark space where Pulse is installed, one appears to be looking at a bare wall or a large, black projection screen. A soft growling becomes audible but is gradually and insistently taken over by the sounds of the installation's laboring machinery, continuously growing louder in volume. The screen begins slowly pulsating, - moving and changing as if the wall is coming alive. Movements are sensual and dark. Subtly, the lighting fades in and out in different shades of grey, light waves pushing from the center towards the edges of the space in undulating movements.

Whether Weather is a hyper-sculpture, mechanically shattering and scattering white light into thousands of pieces of color. The roar of the colors, the pinching sound, and the wind of the fast-spinning machines give visitors an intense physical experience. Within a meta-composition the works are in constant dialogue with each other, submerging us into the dynamics between human and machine. When in sync, the works’ extreme precision creates intensely visible silhouettes, making it difficult for us to distinguish between the physicality of the work and the play of these silhouettes on the wall. Inspired by the Dutch windmills, Whether Weather poetically visualizes the fundamentals of light by generating color wheel phenomena. By rotating the blades at different speeds in relation to each other in a neat composition of interferences, the light breaks and a diverse spectrum of color and sound ensues.

Whether Weather is a hyper-sculpture, mechanically shattering and scattering white light into thousands of pieces of color. The roar of the colors, the pinching sound, and the wind of the fast-spinning machines give visitors an intense physical experience. Within a meta-composition the works are in constant dialogue with each other, submerging us into the dynamics between human and machine. When in sync, the works’ extreme precision creates intensely visible silhouettes, making it difficult for us to distinguish between the physicality of the work and the play of these silhouettes on the wall. Inspired by the Dutch windmills, Whether Weather poetically visualizes the fundamentals of light by generating color wheel phenomena. By rotating the blades at different speeds in relation to each other in a neat composition of interferences, the light breaks and a diverse spectrum of color and sound ensues.

Whether Weather is a hyper-sculpture, mechanically shattering and scattering white light into thousands of pieces of color. The roar of the colors, the pinching sound, and the wind of the fast-spinning machines give visitors an intense physical experience. Within a meta-composition the works are in constant dialogue with each other, submerging us into the dynamics between human and machine. When in sync, the works’ extreme precision creates intensely visible silhouettes, making it difficult for us to distinguish between the physicality of the work and the play of these silhouettes on the wall. Inspired by the Dutch windmills, Whether Weather poetically visualizes the fundamentals of light by generating color wheel phenomena. By rotating the blades at different speeds in relation to each other in a neat composition of interferences, the light breaks and a diverse spectrum of color and sound ensues.

At first glance, the Mreee's look like white relief paintings, vaguely reminiscent of Jan Schoonhoven's monochromes. However, there is more behind these works. If you allow yourself to look at them a little longer, a slow movement draws you in, deeper and deeper. You begin to see a series of abstract landscapes, the mood changing from calm meadows to stormy seas. Each of the works has its own vibe, created by its unique patterns, movements and composition. Mreee is the title of a series of kinetic paintings that explore the phenomenon of moiré. These are interference patterns created when two identical patterns subtly slide past each other. The interference creates an alienating perception of space in the viewer's eyes and brain, a distorting dimension, quiet and hypnotic. Consciousness shifts to the experience of incorporeal digitality and material physicality. The works can be seen as a continuation of the Zero Art Movement in the digital age. Vermeulen's work plays with digital images while being purely analogue. The grid in the textiles resembles a series of ones (1) and zeros (0) - open and closed - while as a whole it appears as if the clouds are drifting away in the sky and slowly returning. Vermeulen has explored this physical phenomenon of moiré through the Mreee's, as well as through his installations More Moiré (2020), Slue (2018) and 10 Meters of Sound (2014).

At first glance, the Mreee's look like white relief paintings, vaguely reminiscent of Jan Schoonhoven's monochromes. However, there is more behind these works. If you allow yourself to look at them a little longer, a slow movement draws you in, deeper and deeper. You begin to see a series of abstract landscapes, the mood changing from calm meadows to stormy seas. Each of the works has its own vibe, created by its unique patterns, movements and composition. Mreee is the title of a series of kinetic paintings that explore the phenomenon of moiré. These are interference patterns created when two identical patterns subtly slide past each other. The interference creates an alienating perception of space in the viewer's eyes and brain, a distorting dimension, quiet and hypnotic. Consciousness shifts to the experience of incorporeal digitality and material physicality. The works can be seen as a continuation of the Zero Art Movement in the digital age. Vermeulen's work plays with digital images while being purely analogue. The grid in the textiles resembles a series of ones (1) and zeros (0) - open and closed - while as a whole it appears as if the clouds are drifting away in the sky and slowly returning. Vermeulen has explored this physical phenomenon of moiré through the Mreee's, as well as through his installations More Moiré (2020), Slue (2018) and 10 Meters of Sound (2014).

At first glance, the Mreee's look like white relief paintings, vaguely reminiscent of Jan Schoonhoven's monochromes. However, there is more behind these works. If you allow yourself to look at them a little longer, a slow movement draws you in, deeper and deeper. You begin to see a series of abstract landscapes, the mood changing from calm meadows to stormy seas. Each of the works has its own vibe, created by its unique patterns, movements and composition. Mreee is the title of a series of kinetic paintings that explore the phenomenon of moiré. These are interference patterns created when two identical patterns subtly slide past each other. The interference creates an alienating perception of space in the viewer's eyes and brain, a distorting dimension, quiet and hypnotic. Consciousness shifts to the experience of incorporeal digitality and material physicality. The works can be seen as a continuation of the Zero Art Movement in the digital age. Vermeulen's work plays with digital images while being purely analogue. The grid in the textiles resembles a series of ones (1) and zeros (0) - open and closed - while as a whole it appears as if the clouds are drifting away in the sky and slowly returning. Vermeulen has explored this physical phenomenon of moiré through the Mreee's, as well as through his installations More Moiré (2020), Slue (2018) and 10 Meters of Sound (2014).

TLLLLLLLT is an instrument formed by TL armatures (fluorescent lights), a technology quickly becoming obsolete as it is replaced by LEDs. The soft percussive sound of these lights flickering as you turn them on is familiar to anyone past a certain generation. This installation plays with this acoustic property in a randomized composition, savouring the blinking “TLLLLLLLT” sounds of a mass of fluorescent lights.

TLLLLLLLT is an instrument formed by TL armatures (fluorescent lights), a technology quickly becoming obsolete as it is replaced by LEDs. The soft percussive sound of these lights flickering as you turn them on is familiar to anyone past a certain generation. This installation plays with this acoustic property in a randomized composition, savouring the blinking “TLLLLLLLT” sounds of a mass of fluorescent lights.

TLLLLLLLT is an instrument formed by TL armatures (fluorescent lights), a technology quickly becoming obsolete as it is replaced by LEDs. The soft percussive sound of these lights flickering as you turn them on is familiar to anyone past a certain generation. This installation plays with this acoustic property in a randomized composition, savouring the blinking “TLLLLLLLT” sounds of a mass of fluorescent lights.

‘[…] Four cords, each about 10 meters long, spin around and make patterns that are strongly reminiscent of waveforms. Certainly, if the pace is screwed up and patterns follow each other at a rapid pace, they are almost too much to comprehend. Accompanied by whip-like sounds, it is an impressive spectacle that enforces admiration, but which scares you as well, you might end up among those cords.’ – Maarten Buser in Metropolis M. 10 Meters Of Sound is an audio-visual kinetic composition for high-speed rotating elastic cables and the interference of their wave patterns. Two elastic cables attached to motors are stretched 10 meters across a room and rotate at different frequencies in a composition of waves and flickering moiré patterns, all the while making ‘whooshing’ sounds through the air. Moiré patterns appear when two similar patterns overlap each other and create a third pattern. 10 Meters Of Sound grew out of the Fan series of auto-destructive mobiles. The installation is now in the permanent collection of Rijksmuseum Twenthe.

‘[…] Four cords, each about 10 meters long, spin around and make patterns that are strongly reminiscent of waveforms. Certainly, if the pace is screwed up and patterns follow each other at a rapid pace, they are almost too much to comprehend. Accompanied by whip-like sounds, it is an impressive spectacle that enforces admiration, but which scares you as well, you might end up among those cords.’ – Maarten Buser in Metropolis M. 10 Meters Of Sound is an audio-visual kinetic composition for high-speed rotating elastic cables and the interference of their wave patterns. Two elastic cables attached to motors are stretched 10 meters across a room and rotate at different frequencies in a composition of waves and flickering moiré patterns, all the while making ‘whooshing’ sounds through the air. Moiré patterns appear when two similar patterns overlap each other and create a third pattern. 10 Meters Of Sound grew out of the Fan series of auto-destructive mobiles. The installation is now in the permanent collection of Rijksmuseum Twenthe.

‘[…] het ronddraaiende elastiek in 10 Meters Of Sound levert wonderschone moiré-patronen op waar je minutenlang gebiologeerd naar kan kijken, maar tegelijkertijd hoop je dat je maar geen gevaar loopt.' – Rijksmuseum Twenthe 10 Meters Of Sound is een interdisciplinaire kinetische installatie van vier vervaarlijk ronddraaiende elastieken van elk 10 meter lang. De interferentie van de elastieken met de lucht creëert golvende en flikkerende patronen. Moiré-patronen verschijnen wanneer twee vergelijkbare patronen elkaar overlappen en er een derde patroon ontstaat. Het ‘whooshende’ geluid van de elastieken en de wind die daarbij vrijkomt doet de toeschouwer als het ware 10 meter lang geluid zien, horen en voelen. Het werk is in 2019 aangekocht door Rijksmuseum Twenthe met hulp van het Mondriaan Fonds en is opgenomen in de collectiepresentatie ‘Ars longa, vita brevis’, waarvoor Vermeulen de omringende zaal mocht cureren met andere stukken uit de vaste collectie van het museum.

A stick moves up and down which makes a canvas of gigantic dimensions flutter, like some sort of mating dance. It starts seductively slow. It floats, it waves. Gradually transforming into aggressive flapping, it almost rips itself apart. It flaunts, it gasps. The fabric creates stroboscopic, hypnotic patterns as the square structure pulls and releases the canvas from each corner. Chaotic fluttering contrasts good-tempered waving, while the material is constantly testing its movement capacity in a rhythmic choreography.

A stick moves up and down which makes a canvas of gigantic dimensions flutter, like some sort of mating dance. It starts seductively slow. It floats, it waves. Gradually transforming into aggressive flapping, it almost rips itself apart. It flaunts, it gasps. The fabric creates stroboscopic, hypnotic patterns as the square structure pulls and releases the canvas from each corner. Chaotic fluttering contrasts good-tempered waving, while the material is constantly testing its movement capacity in a rhythmic choreography.

A stick moves up and down which makes a canvas of gigantic dimensions flutter, like some sort of mating dance. It starts seductively slow. It floats, it waves. Gradually transforming into aggressive flapping, it almost rips itself apart. It flaunts, it gasps. The fabric creates stroboscopic, hypnotic patterns as the square structure pulls and releases the canvas from each corner. Chaotic fluttering contrasts good-tempered waving, while the material is constantly testing its movement capacity in a rhythmic choreography.

'Slue is elusive and beautiful, but sometimes frightening and scary because of the setting and the sound. It is a thin line between fascination and the fear that the rope will snap.' – Ingeborg van Lieshout, bright.nl Meaning word ‘Slue’: to turn or slide violently or uncontrollably. Slue is the pumped up sister of 10 Meters of Sound, where multiple elastic cables are stretched across a large space suspended above a row of lights, rotating at alternately accelerating and decelerating tempos, painting the air with “whooshing” sounds and streaks of coloured light over time. Slue is a study of chaotic patterns that arise in the interaction between whipping elastic, the frequencies of light and its effect on the perception of the viewer in combination with the architectural / landscape surroundings. The installation was made in collaboration with Mischa Daams and premiered at Into The Great Wide Open festival on Vlieland, where it stretched amongst trees in the woods.

'Slue is elusive and beautiful, but sometimes frightening and scary because of the setting and the sound. It is a thin line between fascination and the fear that the rope will snap.' – Ingeborg van Lieshout, bright.nl Meaning word ‘Slue’: to turn or slide violently or uncontrollably. Slue is the pumped up sister of 10 Meters of Sound, where multiple elastic cables are stretched across a large space suspended above a row of lights, rotating at alternately accelerating and decelerating tempos, painting the air with “whooshing” sounds and streaks of coloured light over time. Slue is a study of chaotic patterns that arise in the interaction between whipping elastic, the frequencies of light and its effect on the perception of the viewer in combination with the architectural / landscape surroundings. The installation was made in collaboration with Mischa Daams and premiered at Into The Great Wide Open festival on Vlieland, where it stretched amongst trees in the woods.

'Slue is elusive and beautiful, but sometimes frightening and scary because of the setting and the sound. It is a thin line between fascination and the fear that the rope will snap.' – Ingeborg van Lieshout, bright.nl Meaning word ‘Slue’: to turn or slide violently or uncontrollably. Slue is the pumped up sister of 10 Meters of Sound, where multiple elastic cables are stretched across a large space suspended above a row of lights, rotating at alternately accelerating and decelerating tempos, painting the air with “whooshing” sounds and streaks of coloured light over time. Slue is a study of chaotic patterns that arise in the interaction between whipping elastic, the frequencies of light and its effect on the perception of the viewer in combination with the architectural / landscape surroundings. The installation was made in collaboration with Mischa Daams and premiered at Into The Great Wide Open festival on Vlieland, where it stretched amongst trees in the woods.

‘Boem BOem is een percussie instrumenten van monumentale proporties dat met zijn onmenselijke kracht je lichaam laat sidderen van angst.’ – Matteo Marangoni, Neural Magazine. De naam Boem BOem komt van het klankgedicht ‘Boem Paukeslag’ van Paul van Ostaijen. De installatie is een akoestisch instrument, bestaande uit twee zwaar opgevoerde schiettuigen die tennisballen met een snelheid van 150 km/u afschieten tegen twee resonerende houten klankkasten. De ballen kaatsen hard terug en worden 15 meter verder opgevangen in een vangnet en opnieuw afgeschoten. Een gesloten cirkel. Boem BOem schiet ballen in verschillende composities. Van funky ritmes, gecomponeerd door Vermeulen, tot minder gedefinieerde algoritmes, gecomponeerd door de machine zelf. De composities zien er gewelddadig uit en klinken ook zo. Ze laten het publiek, dat vlak naast de overvliegende ballen staat, meetrillen en het geweld van het oorverdovende geluid ervaren. Het werk is tot stand gekomen dankzij de steun van V2_, instituut voor instabiele media, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie en MetaMedia Kroatië. Boem BOem / Physical Rhythm Machine kreeg van de Koninklijke Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten de ArtScience prijs toegewezen en was genomineerd voor de Piket Schilders prijs 2017.

‘Boem BOem is een percussie instrumenten van monumentale proporties dat met zijn onmenselijke kracht je lichaam laat sidderen van angst.’ – Matteo Marangoni, Neural Magazine.

‘Boem BOem a percussion instrument of monumental proportions that with its inhuman power makes your body tremble with fear.’ – Matteo Marangoni, Neural Magazine.