About

Wilhelmusvlug studied Audiovisual at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Modern Art in Amsterdam. In his first year he formed the notorious art duo “The Art Brothers” with his class mate Peter Hertogh.Together they created a universe of their own and got instant recognition with their strange and wonderful theatrical performances. Still at art school they were asked to create performances in the museum of modern art Boymans van Beuningen, on tv & radio shows, and performed in concert halls like Paradiso Amsterdam. After 10 years they split up as a duo, and his work changed from performance to painting and designs for theatre, clubs and festivals.

Last 15 years his main focus is on monumental Light Art and Video Art Installations. His work is commissioned by the Amsterdam Light Festival, Manifesto, the Kit Kat Club, the Gay Pride, Wasteland, Amsterdam Fashion Week, Schiphol International Airport, the city of Amsterdam, Juliana International Airport and more.

Wilhelmusvlug lives and works in the countryside just north of Amsterdam.

Artist Statement

This is a time for visual artists to reinvent themselves. In a time that mediums to create images are assessable to almost everyone, it is simply not enough to create work for beauty or for personal taste. Everyone with a computer or mobile phone does, and the internet is filled with billions of beautiful images. Sadly enough even with beauty excess harms. The abundance of beauty diminishes the power of one beautiful image. I am convinced that the way to express yourself as an artist is to focus on the meaning of your work, the way it relates to the world, and the reason why it should be made. In this time of turmoil in the world, with global warming, pollution, the extinction of species, power crazed populists, and a growing gap between the extremely rich and the rest, it feels natural to use art as a statement and a means to rase awareness for social injustice and global problems.

The images for my video-installations emerge from my subconscious. They are surrealistic dreamscapes in which I play with gender, sexuality, stereotypes, subcultures & taboos. Inspired by the cinemascope films from my childhood, I create large horizontal canvasses which I fill with strange people, animals, bizarre vehicles and mythical creatures. Every canvas can be viewed as a digital Tableaux Vivant. Every now and then I merge some of these digital canvasses together to create a short non-narrative film. Because these short films have no clear story, viewers are stimulated to create their own story for the films.

My monumental light-art installations emerge from my conscious mind. They embody my concerns about the world of today. Because they are mostly temporary works that can be seen during a festival they are very suitable for addressing the problems of our modern society with topics as Global Warming, Fake News, Social Media etc.

Next to my art projects I work as a designer, designing interiors for bars, clubs & restaurants, boats for the Canal Pride, stage designs, and 3D renders.

When not designing or working on my art projects I like to spin alternative music as underground DJ run paint run.