Swirl (Wervel)

About this artwork.

Bright yellow, ocean blue and then fiery red; the intense colours of Swirl (Wervel) jump and swirl through the car park under Forum Groningen, appearing to splash off the twenty-metre-long LED sculpture. Swirl is a depiction of turbulence; the shape of the sculpture is inspired by a tornado. 

With this work of art, Nicky Assmann created a gigantic video sculpture that does not bring virtual reality neatly to you in a rectangular frame, but as an image that sprawls wildly and organically through space. 

The sculpture – consisting of a steel frame containing more than 1,300 LED mats – was born out of years of research into natural movement patterns such as turbulence and fluid dynamics. Assmann's photographs and Swirl, but in the sculpture they are distorted into swirling and churning images. To achieve this, Assmann developed two video synthesizers especially for this work of art, which use algorithms to compose images containing so-called hyper-colours: expressive colours that hark back to nature. The sun is one of Assmann's most important sources of inspiration. 

About the assignment.

Swirl was commissioned by CBK Groningen and made possible in part by the municipality of Groningen. The brief stated that the work of art should respond to the architecture and "DNA" of the Forum: an accessible work of art that combines innovation and science with seduction and curiosity.

Swirl in the Forum Garage is freely accessible between 9 am and 9 pm. The parking garage is accessible via the bicycle cellar / connecting door to the garage. Without a parking ticket, you can contact the control room via the button next to the door, which will then let you in. Or take the car entrance.

Facts & Figures.

• Design
  Nicky Assmann

• District
  Centrum

• Year of creation
  2019

• Art type
  Art and architecture, Art in / on a building, Light artwork

• Material
  Computer controlled LED light

• Dimensions
  lengte: 20,00 m