ERROR

Typical in all of Vendel & de Wolf’s work is their use of materials: objects such as lightbulbs, marbles, spoons, cardboard, and styrofoam, are transformed into something completely unique that resembles the natural forms of the universe. In Vendel & de Wolf’s installations, each fixture has an onboard chip that controls its slightest movement. So, instead of using a central control program to operate the lighting effects in the work, the resulting effect is produced by the random and out-of-sync operation of these mass-produced chips, exhibiting a natural-born randomness within the supposed “faultless precision” of technology.

Our evolution is often the result of errors in the reading of DNA, which create new mutations and impact natural selection. This diversity is what makes us human. The striking swirling black hole in the work Error is then an abstract visual connecting the randomness of the universe with the randomness of technology — a pulsar sucking us all into the ever-unknown. Can technology fix all the errors? Or does it have its own inbuilt flaws, just like us? Vendel & de Wolf’s unique take on the theme of AI invites audiences to question whether technology can break the laws of nature, or, much like us humans, is eternally bound by it, imperfections and all.

Dutch artists Paul Vendel and Sandra de Wolf have been together since they met during their studies in Audiovisual Art and Photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Over the past 32 years, they have been creating works separately or jointly as Vendel & de Wolf, making commissioned works for public spaces, or presenting temporary installations at exhibitions and festivals. This marks the second time that their work is featured at the SNFCC, the first one being Sign in 2023.

Photo credits: Nikos Karanikolas