Physics Distorter 1.3

During the Wereld van de Witte de With festival in 2009, Jan van Nuenen presented his interactive video installation “Physics Distorter 1.3.” At the heart of the work was a wireless remote control shaped like a globe, allowing visitors to manipulate digital laws of nature.

The installation offered a hypnotic visual experience in which the viewer could intervene in an animated world as a kind of divine force. Movements and interactions with the controller caused distortions in time, space, and gravity. With “Physics Distorter 1.3,” Van Nuenen quite literally placed the viewer at the helm of an alternate reality — one where control proves to be an illusion and chaos reveals its own hidden form of order.

The work was part of the festival’s public program and, with its visual language and conceptual depth, fit perfectly within the context of urban art and digital reflection. Mothership initiated and curated the project, and was responsible for its execution and overall coordination. The project was produced in collaboration with September in Rotterdam (Rotterdam Festivals).