Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde and his team, as a social design lab, connect people and technology through installations that use light to improve daily life in urban environments, spark imagination, and combat the climate crisis. We discussed his production practice and current projects with Daan.
Interview: Onur Çoban
First of all, I would like to focus on your mission to bridge the gap between people and technology. As a social design lab, you create a connection between people and technology through installations that improve daily life in urban environments, spark imagination, and combat the climate crisis. What is the inspiration behind these artistic designs aimed at improving everyday city life and fighting the climate crisis?
I always like to think in terms of proposals rather than just ideas. These are proposals for what a better, more sustainable future could look like, and more importantly, how it could feel. We take problems and transform them into potentials. These could be wastes, smoke, or traditional fireworks. We use beauty as a kind of strategy to help people embrace this change. Because we all need change and action against climate change, but no one wants to change. When you create something new using technology or science and use beauty, it's really interesting to see how people start becoming a part of this change.
Urban Sun
How do you use light as a design material by controlling it? At which stages of your design process does the controllability of light play the biggest role, and how would you describe the creative freedom that this control provides you?
Most of the time, we still use light decoratively or to illuminate buildings, but I think there is incredible power in light. When we look at the stars at night, it's not just something romantic or decorative. It's information coming to us at 300,000 kilometers per second. That's why I love using light, because it's a powerful way to help people imagine and take them to places they've never been before. Sometimes this involves removing lights, as we did with seeing the stars. We've already convinced two major cities to turn off all their lights to see the stars again. So, it's more about removing and revealing what's already there. Other times, it's about thinking of how we can celebrate with lights in ways that won't scare street-dwelling creatures or create too much toxic air, like with our biodegradable firework project, Spark.
"I have always seen light as a language; to create a human interaction between each other, among people, and with the world around us."
One of your recent projects, Waterlicht, stands out as a virtual flood showcasing the power of water. This project, which draws attention to rising sea levels as a result of climate change, emphasizes both the fragility and strength of water, leaving a profound impact on the viewer. Could you tell us a bit about this project?
We all know that the world is changing, but somehow it feels very abstract to us. Or you feel like you are not a part of it. I mean, I love science, but somehow I felt that numbers don't really help us be open to change. If I told you that the sea level will rise by an average of 2.5 meters before the year 2100, you would say, okay. That's a lot. But once you see it, stand under it, feel it, and share it, it's a completely different story. I love creating these experiences where people dive into a kind of imaginary world and dreamscape.
It's also a bit unsettling, a bit frightening, because you're saying, "look, this is our future world." Some of the places where we showed Waterlicht are now underwater, unfortunately turning Waterlicht into reality. Places like Waterlicht Maasmechel in Belgium or Waterlicht Loep Versteijn, these became reality a year later. I think the most important thing is that this is quite hopeful, because often it's not yet real. I think it encourages people to think, as they walk on their knees, "what can I do to create a better future?" How can we be part of this change?
Waterlicht
In your Grow project, which emphasizes the importance of innovation in agriculture, you draw inspiration from scientific light recipes that enhance plant growth and resilience. In this project, where we see how the beauty of light can help plants, how did you design the blend of agriculture and art, and what path did you follow? How do you hope people will see agriculture from a different perspective?
Grow is interesting because there are these vast places that feed us, but we don't really notice them. We don't truly look at them or respect them, and that's a problem because these are the places that nourish us. There are also silent sources of pesticides or increasing CO2 levels. I was curious about how we can use the power of light to give more value to the places that feed us and to the farmers working on the land. We found this element of light recipes that are used indoors in greenhouses but never outdoors, where red and blue light helps crops grow better after sunset and where UV present can reduce pesticide use. I think this is a wonderful and beautiful way to emphasize the places that feed us and to use science as a platform to make agriculture warmer, more sustainable, and less harmful.
The studio transformed a field into a dynamic artwork with the Grow project, a 20,000 square meter light installation designed to emphasize the beauty of agriculture and enhance crop growth using red, blue, and ultraviolet lights. Besides creating a visual spectacle, the installation serves as a prototype demonstrating how specific light recipes can increase plant growth and reduce pesticide use by up to 50%.
Grow
Could you tell us about your project named Spark, inspired by the magical light of fireflies and the desire to update the fireworks ritual? What emotion or message does Spark aim to evoke in its audience?
I think we all agree on the importance of celebrations. At the same time, when you look at traditional fireworks, they can be beautiful to watch. However, with air pollution increasing tenfold, it leads to millions of euros in damage. In the Netherlands alone, we had damages of 100 to 110 million euros. The harm to street animals is also evident. We thought about how we could sustain the tradition of celebration but modernize it, and this gave rise to Spark. We started about two years ago in Bilbao, and it immediately resonated with a wide audience. We've done it in London, Melbourne, Auckland, Tokyo, and we'll be in Italy in a few weeks. It's like a dream come true. I think it's a good example of how things can change. You know, we're changing some things and keeping some things the same. For example, Spark is quiet, which I love—it's silent yet still dramatic with light, and it's quite recyclable, so it doesn't harm the environment. For me, this is the path to the future. If traditional fireworks cause so much harm to nature and animals, can we still call it a celebration?
Finally, what are your future projects or goals? How do you envision contributing to society and the world?
Currently, we are designing and constructing the world's largest firefly sanctuary in Indonesia, aiming to preserve and reintroduce real fireflies that have been on the brink of extinction due to light pollution and pesticide use until this year. We are raising them, bringing them back, and working on the rest of the job, like Spark. I'm still on a world tour and working on new permanent artworks in Belgium, the UAE, and the UK.
