During this time he realised his desire to combine digital processes with physical materials - from shaping physical materials through digital processes to showing digital processes in physical space. He was particularly interested in how computers and networks that were first designed to be a part of the physical world now started to dictate the design of our everyday environment through the emerged digital culture.
These works include Lung, Bas-Jan Ader Book and Methods of Learning.
Lung was made in collaboration with Amy Whittle and represents breathing data through an artificial lung made of soap. Lung is developed in collaboration with the Data Design Team of Philips Design and the department of Interaction Design of ArtEZ Academy of the Arts and was shown at the Uncertainty Studios during the Dutch Design Week.
The Bas-Jan Ader Book is a book about the life of Dutch artist Bas-Jan Ader. In 1975, Ader decided to sail from the United States to the Netherlands in the smallest vessel ever to cross the Atlantic. It would become the project people would recognise him for, Ader called it "In Search Of The Miraculous". After three weeks all radio contact with the artist was lost and he was presumed lost at sea. On April 18, 1976 his boat was found off the coast of Ireland, without a trace of Ader. The Bas-Jan Ader Book is only readable by dissolving the pages in water, briefly revealing its contents.
Methods of Learning is Willem's graduation project and tries to explore the ways in which humans might interact and collaborate with neural networks. One row of lasers is controlled by a sine function, the other row of lasers is a neural network learning cosine. Together they try to draw a circle. Methods of Learning was on display at GOGBOT Blink Young Blood Award, best of graduates 2016, where it received an honourable mention. The work has also been shown at InScience festival 2016.
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