About
Zinc Garden Rotterdam | Michiel van Bakel Hooidrift 122-A 3023KV Rotterdam Netherlands tel. +31 (0) 10 425 97 72
Born 1966 in Deurne, The Netherlands
Education
1984-1985 Astronomy, Leiden University
1985-1986 Art academy Psychopolis, The Hague
1986-1988 Psychology, Nijmegen University
1988-1992 Art academy, H.K.A. Arnhem
Michiel van Bakel studied astronomy, photography (Psychopolis; Frans Zwartjes) and psychology for several years before he chose for autonomous visual art, at art school. Van Bakel expresses himself artistically in film and videos, sculpture and installations.
His work focuses on people and their surroundings, often resulting in a poetic reality. It conveys a fascination for the tension between man and technology, perception of time in a delicate man-made ecosystem.
“When I look around, I see a lot of technology that aims to constrain reality in predictability, by categorizing and automating. I want to use technology to evoke wonder and transcend reality and predictability.
I like to visualize things that were previously unseen and in that sense enrich my experience of reality. That is for me the incentive to make use of experimental video and animation techniques. Devices such as cameras, scanners and image processing algorithms I see as an extension of my senses. With these tools I manipulate images that are like anchors in time for me, but also images from my urban backyard: my condition urbaine.
In the same manner as a sculptor gives his material form through interventions in 3d space, I construct my videos in time. Recurring themes are examining human perception, experiencing time, disorientation and instability. ”
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