During lockdown, there are few places left where you can see art, but fortunately here in Groningen we still have the Tschumi Pavilion. The work DichtLicht by Lambert Kamps (Groningen, 1974) is currently on display on the Hereplein. A display consisting of pneumatically powered bar lamps was designed by Kamps and will provide a platform for the work of five poets over the next few weeks. The lights constantly slide slowly in and out of enclosed tubes. In the dark winter months, it is a fascinating sight that made us interested in getting to know the creator better.
YOU OFTEN CALL YOURSELF AN ARTIST AND DESIGNER: WHERE IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO TERMS FOR YOU?
‘For me, it depends on the situation I'm in. The point is that I make mostly spatial work, and that has the disadvantage in that the cost of materials is quite high. As a result, I am fairly dependent on clients to fund my projects. But the client also often determines what direction you will take and what kind of freedom exists within the commission itself. Nevertheless, I am always working on several things at the same time and I also design expos and do the decorating work for exhibitions. You always have to do more things to make money to do other things.’
THE TUBE LAMPS YOU USE FOR THE WORK IN THE TSCHUMI PAVILION HAVE A LONG HISTORY IN YOUR WORK. COULD YOU EXPLAIN HOW THE IDEA ORIGINATED?
‘That has actually been a very long process. I once worked with hydraulics for a work of mine titled Reversor (2005). The idea behind this was that certain actions are usually irreversible, in this case the felling of a tree. But with the Reversor, you could move a tree back to its original position to see if you might have preferred that. To make this possible I used hydraulic cylinders which in turn gave me the idea of using this technique to make a mechanically dimmable lamp. The way that worked was fairly simple: the further the lamp slides out of its socket, the more light it emits and vice versa. It was great that this worked, but I actually liked the way the lamp moved much more. So I developed it further and first used it to make a digital clock. This in turn gave me the idea that I could use the installation to create a text display. I then submitted a proposal for the Amsterdam Light Festival 2017. My proposal was selected but they preferred the clock idea because it fit better with the festival. Anyway, I was given a sizeable budget to further develop the lamps so that they were suitable for outdoor use. The idea of using these lamps for text really entered development because the Tschumi Pavilion was looking for a project that worked with light so that it could be displayed during the winter months and preferably something that could be used for several years. So I submitted my proposal for DichtLicht and that’s how everything came about.’
AND SO NOW IT IS BEING USED TO PROVIDE A PLATFORM FOR FIVE POETS?
‘Yes, the work will be there for three months and I thought it would be too boring to show only one piece of text for so long. So I selected five very different poets and asked them if they had work that would fit the theme or if they could create new work. This is a rather tricky thing to do because the work can only show eight characters at a time. So within those eight characters, only a word or two will fit. Currently on view is Emily Wortel’s work Ik Jij Wij (I You We). Her poem takes over for Tjitse Hofman's poem ‘Heen en terug’ (There and Back), which was featured from the start on 4 December. After Emily, the programme will include work by Charlotte Beerda, Cissy Gressmann and Esmé van den Boom.’
ARE THERE ANY OTHER WORKS OF YOURS INSTALLED IN PUBLIC SPACES THAT WE COULD SEE CURRENTLY?
‘There are quite a few! A wall object that I created in collaboration with Tjeerd Veenhoven, called Groninger Universalis (2014), is hanging at the Groningen city council office in the Euroborg. I designed the bicycle routes with paintings by De Ploeg along the side of the road and implemented them myself. Then there is also the lookout point at Lauwersoog: there I designed a new lookout point together with Ben van der Meer that you can just visit. At the Fraeylemaborg in Slochteren, there is a work of mine as well, made from a recycled church tower. The children's biennial at the Groninger Museum is coming up in June too. For that, I am making a large inflatable stuffed cave similar to my work Cosy Shelter. But I now have a little more space and with it the opportunity to make the work even bigger and more exciting!’
DichtLicht will be on display until 11 April 2021 in the Tschumi Pavilion. For more information, please visit www.kunstpuntgroningen.nl/tschumipaviljoen
Visit here for more information about Lambert Kamps' work www.lambertkamps.com/nl/news