Regenerative Flows
Invitation
Regenerative Flows is a living landscape that grows and evolves over time. It's an ode to the slow but constant transformations of travertine deposition in healing springs.
A place where stillness reigns, and time seems to slow down. As contributors exhale, CO2 reacts with slaked lime (Ca(OH)₂), and a solid carbon-locking landscape of limestone gradually forms.
This natural process is a reaction in the subaquatic realm where mineral fallout form a delicate dance, one that is only visible to the most patient and observant visitors.
The installation forms a starting point, a nucleation for different artistic perspectives to inspire and co-create, adding new poetic layers to the installation.
Regenerative Flows invites us to slow down, to pause and take stock of the world around us. It is a reminder that beauty and complexity can arise from the simplest of materials and the most basic of processes.
RESEARCH
The phenomenon we replicate is called the precipitation of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3) . The two compounds interacting are Calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) and Carbon dioxide (CO₂).
For the precipitation to occur an oversaturated solution of aqueous calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) gets disturbed by atmospheric CO₂, changing the PH values.
A rough surface of Belgian Blue limestone (Carrières du Hainaut) is used to stimulate the crystal nucleation, a process that leads to crystal growth.
Calcite is a component of limestone and is the most stable and abundant polymorph of calcium carbonate on the earth. Its growth and dissolution play critical roles in the global carbon cycle.
An installation by Sep Verboom
Video by Glenn Verdickt
Special thanks Annelies Thoelen, Marnix Rummens, Juraj Olejar, Tom Peeters (Open Biolab Brussels), Prof. dr. Stijn Dewaele (Ugent), Rik Storms, Kapow, Nerdlab, Atelier Winters, Hacienda-stabiliteit
Commissioned by Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture. Supported by
Z33
Z33 is a ground-breaking arts institution in Hasselt that works at the intersection of art, design and architecture. It is a safe haven on the periphery with a magnificent new building and a refreshingly diverse programme. It is a rugged playground for artistic research, with its sights set on the world, its feet in the mud, and a heart that beats for talent development, (un)learning, the enjoyment of research and scintillating collaborations.
Sep Verboom
The Belgian creative Sep Verboom (1990) is at once designer and social entrepreneur, less concerned with the objectification of the result, more with the context in which it takes place.
‘Too often we measure success and profit in terms of economic values. What happened to the importance of people’s well-being and health of our environment?’
Through his Livable® platform, Verboom brings together partners as diverse as their geographies: from the Peruvian Amazon to Indonesia, and from local governments or commercial companies to NGO’s.
Verboom graduated with a degree in Industrial Design (HOWEST) and in Sustainable Development from (VIVES) both in Kortrijk (BE).
His collaborative approach has been internationally recognised, with numerous expositions and awards. In 2018 Sep Verboom won the Belgian Henry Van De Velde Award for Young Talent. In 2020 his commitment to socially engaged design earned him the prestigious title ‘Designer of the Year’ by Biennale Interieur.
Glenn Verdickt
Glenn Verdickt is een cinematograaf gevestigd in Antwerpen, België. Hij richt zich op camerawerk, montage en regie.
Al van jongs af aan is hij geïntrigeerd door bewegende beelden en prachtige landschappen, gaande van grote Hollywood blockbusters tot kleine indiefilms. Glenn begon te experimenteren met goedkope videocamera's tijdens de middelbare school, en zette zelfgeschreven scenario's om in zijn eerste kleine films.
Als autodidact heeft Glenn een lange weg afgelegd sinds die eerste video's. Na meer dan 12 jaar ervaring kreeg hij de kans om te werken voor grote klanten zoals Tomorrowland, Harrods, Brussels Airlines en nog veel meer.
Bo Vloors
Bo Vloors (°1993, she/her) is a visual artist, photographer, filmmaker and writer who lives and works in Brussels.
Using photography, film and text, her work revolves around human relations, their surroundings and the influential power of images. “The Image” stands central in her practice. She uses the art of image-making to visualize her interest in human behavior and their surroundings. Striving to balance aesthetics and content, her work gently unfolds (her own) human vulnerability with a certain tenderness, intimacy and uncertainty.
Suntapes
Suntapes is musician, composer and producer Tomas Vanderplaetse. His compositions are atmospheric soundtracks merging neo-classic, minimal, dark electronics and ethnic music.
Tomas produces soundtracks for live performances, documentaries, films and immersive experiences. He’s on a constant quest to find the right musical atmosphere for each visual story. In a more poetic way one could say that he sees sound. As a classically schooled pianist Tomas developed his own neo-classic style on the grand piano. While traveling he gathered and learned to play a lot of ethnic instruments. More special sauce is added in his music through experimentation with effects and analog synthesizers.