Artists, scientists and students from VU and UvA and HvA work on projects in the lab From left to right: Yona Yfke Adipurnomo (HvA -engineering product design), Iza Awad (VU/UvA -chemistry, Raoul Frese (director), Alex Lambertz, VU/UvA – physics), Sandrine D’Haene (researcher and manager), Michael Sedbon (artist)

Many people pass through our doors, but several artists and scientists perform research for longer periods. At times this can involve permanent member Raoul Frese and in the past Sandrine d’Haene. Also, we actively seek funding for projects in order to employ and support artists and scientists as senior researchers or postdocs. Most notably this has been the case with the Creative Europe funded program Studiotopia, and the NWO programs Research through Design, Nationale wetenschapsagenda and Smart Culture.

Director

Raoul Frese, professor at Vrije Universiteit, Dept. of physics and astronomy, section biophysics of photosynthesis. Scientific expertise involve the molecular machinery of photosynthesis.

The focus of Frese is on the application in solar cells and sensors, Biosolar Cells, as interdisciplinary effort and artistic and societal aspect of Plant-machines, as transdisciplinary research and dissemination.

Frese founded the hybrid forms laboratory at Vrije Universiteit, together with Sandrine d’Haene, Ivan Henriques, Dmitry Gelfand and Evelina Domnitch for the project Symbiotic Machines for Space Exploration, a joint project with the European Space Agency and Willem de Kooning Art Academy. The lab was the first participant of the VU Demonstrator Lab, see also introduction to the lab here.

Researchers

Lena Kuzmich

Artist and guest researcher at Hybrid Forms Lab and resident at III the Hague. Lena is collaborating with several institutions in Europe and Netherlands to achieve high power photosynthetic microbial fuels cells and high tech frames in order to create the work ‘ photosynthesizer’. At VU also physics students Thomas Timmerman and Erdem Acil are involved in this work

Evelina Domnitch and Dmitry Gelfand

Leading researchers in the field of artscience, Domnitch and Gelfand are part of the founders of the lab and long-term residents. They participated in the Research through Design project as well as Studiotopia. Their work ER = EPR was exhibited at the first exhibition of the VU Art Science Gallery. Their collaboration with Florian Schreck for their Studiotopia residency also resulted in the film Black Holes of Perception.

Špela Petrič

Senior researcher, Project: Smart Hybrid Forms, NWO funded project with Rietveld Academie, V2, Waag and Zone2Source. Špela is a Slovenian new media artist and former scientific researcher currently based between Ljubljana, SIovenia, in Amsterdam, NL. She received a PhD in Biomedicine at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and an Advanced Master in Arts from LUCA, Brussels, Belgium.

Christiaan Zwanikken

Senior researcher, Project: Smart Hybrid Forms, NWO funded project with Rietveld Academie, V2, Waag and Zone2Source. Zwanikken (1967) uses a variety of sculptural media, robotics, biology, micro-controllers, and sound— his work is both an artistic and technological experiment in which innovation and invention play an important role.

Annemie Maes

Annemarie is fascinated by nature in all her forms. Her work involves bees and bacteria. She won a residency via S+T+ARTS at HF Lab for her project Sensorial Skin

Michael Sedbon

Michael Sedbon is an interaction designer and artist exploring the relationships between technology and natural forms. Michael won the BioArt Design Awad with Raoul Frese in 2019. Currently at Oxman New York.

Ivan Henriques

Ivan Henriques is a transdisciplinary artist and researcher working in multimedia installations examining living systems. Henriques coordinates the interdisciplinary group and mobile residency program EME (Estúdio Móvel Experimental, since 2008). His works are exhibited internationally, participating in festivals, residencies and talks.

Samira Boon

Ceo of Studio Samira Boon, a textile architecture studio based in Amsterdam and Tokyo with a strong focus on creating flexible and dynamic environments. Recent works include the 3D woven SUPERFOLDS and ARCHI FOLDS: two innovative series of textile structures, which bring together technique, science and art.

Anna Sitnikova

interior architect, designer and an art curator

Simone Hoang

Simone collaborated with HF and exhibited at VU Amsterdam.

“photography that is deeply rooted in my personal history”

Emma van der Leest

“Ultimately the role of the future designer is to explore how nature’s biodesigned materials could become tomorrow’s consumer products.”

Emma is founder of Blue City and together with Rotterdam Art Academy Willem de Kooning has participated in workshops with the Hybrid Forms Lab.

Manuel Alfonso Soler

Passionate by science, electronics and programming, Manu helped Michael Sedbon to develop the electronic parts of his photo-bioreactors. Manuel has also expertise in video and photography.

Arthur Kroon

Senior researcher

Agata Maria Kołodziejczyk

Senior researcher European Space Agency, Starter of our Bacterial Cellulose endeavors and Project coordination manager at Analog Astronaut Training Center, Lunares, Poland.

makers

Andjela Tomic

Angela is an electronic engineer. “I was born with a screwdriver in my left hand and incredible vigorous curiosity. Those two elements are following me until today, walking on the wire in between art and science, my heart is always beeting in the rhythm to dream, to imagine, to repair and to create.”

students

Iza Awad

Our Bacteria cellulose expert, and artscience developer at hybrid forms lab. Awad created garments of living algae and showcased his work at various venues. Work and lab also shown at Tegenlicht, VPRO national television. UvA/VU Student Science for Energy and Sustainability

Granit Domgjoni

VU student Science Business and Innovation, Work with Ivan Henriques on Photosynthetic Microbial Fuel Cells. Granit is skilled in Biotechnology, Biophysics, Renewable Fuels, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Machine Control, and Manufacturing.

Nadia Kitzen

Kunstacademie Maastricht

Yona Yfke Adipurnomo

Yona has obtained her Bachelor degree in Engineering Product Design Hogeschool van Amsterdam thanks to her internship at Samira’s studio in collaboration with Hybrid Forms Lab.