About

Wilhelmusvlug is a contemporary artist whose main focus for the last 15 years has been on monumental light art and video art installations.

During his first year of study at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy of Modern Art in Amsterdam, 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.

While still at art school, they were asked to create performances in the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, on TV & radio shows, and performed in concert halls like Paradiso Amsterdam. After 10 years they split up as a duo and Wilhelmusvlug’s work changed from performance to painting and design for theatre, clubs, and festivals.

His work has been commissioned by the Amsterdam Light Festival, Manifesto, the Kit Kat Club Berlin, the Gay Pride, Wasteland, Amsterdam Fashion Week, Schiphol International Airport, the city of Amsterdam, and Juliana International Airport, among others.

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

Artist Statement

I was raised as a city-kid in the countryside and matured as a country boy in Amsterdam. These opposite worlds have always been a part of me. They shaped my inner world, a place where nature represents daytime and my conscious mind, and the big city represents night-life and my subconscious.

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 suitable for addressing our modern society’s problems such as Global Warming, Fake News and Social Media.

The often bizarre scenes in 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 that I fill with strange people, animals, vehicles, and mythical creatures.

Every canvas can be viewed as a digital Tableaux Vivant. Now and then, I merge some of these digital canvasses to create a short non-narrative film. The lack of a clear story stimulates viewers to develop their own narrative for the films.