Medialab - Dit Eiland

INTRODUCTION
All weathers, times and tides …..
The Archipel initiative took off at the Archipel festival at the Nieuwe Meer Amsterdam. A
collaboration between Timo Mank, Patricia Nauta and Cees van den Oever. In 1998 we opened the
Haglet Bar to present captain Haglet’s web based ocean. Artists, writers and musicians where invited
to claim a personal island for online presentations, an idealistic and rather uncommon initiative in
the early days of the web.
In 2001 the idea of imaginary islands transformed into the physical domain by moving to Wadden
island Ameland and starting art hotel Dit Eiland. Two decisive factors contributed to the
establishment of the Archipel Medialab. First the collaboration with Ookoi artists Peter Mertens and
Harold Schellinx and second the team up with Gijs van Hesteren, innovator at local cable provider
Kabel Noord. Over the years we digitally mixed, cut, taped, stole, stretched and streamed any
thinkable input derived from the island and playfully stuffed the results into our projects. Our motto:
“Everything is good, the more the better”... Over fifty different artists, musicians and media
professionals collaborated to produce new work spread over various channels . From mainstream
media to Twitter and from gallery presentations to festivals, art fairs and various dedicated servers.
The quest of all our digital adventures could be defined as “giving specific local values a novel
context”. That is also the reason why we got support from various sides, ranging from our cable
provider to cultural funds & touristic organisations and from the province of Friesland to the
municipal Ameland.
We are on the verge of starting all over again in a different place initiating new things and we look
back at 10 fruitful creative years. This paper offers a brief overview of the projects, taking a 16 pages
dive back in time. Starting with the last project because the latest is always the best and just slightly
less than the next project.
Timo Mank
Hollum - July 2015
2013
WANDELZAND
June - November
Navigation app for iPhone. Sound-walk with virtual guide Zander from the Maritime Center Ameland
to the lighthouse. Soundscape by Ookoi Peter Mertens & Harold Schellinx, application programming
by Daniel Salber, voice over Dirk Visser. Lighthouse dance and machinima Timo Mank.
2012
GRASS CONVERSATIONS
December 0th Dec 2012 - 21st Dec 2012
Cross reality event by Timo Mank. Programmed at the Odyssey Performance Art Festival in
cooperation with the Black Bag Media Collective Nova Scotia, Canada. During the event
Newfoundland, Canada and Ameland were connected in a shared virtual space.
REFLECTIONS
November
Open studio project. Three young artists reflected on the work of the Dutch artist JCJ Vanderheyden.
Josien Buiter, Lieselot van Damme and Astrid Nobel stayed at a mobile workspace on the outskirt of
Hollum and presented sketches and findings on internet on daily basis during Art Month Ameland.
GRASS
September - November
Video production by Timo Mank featuring Haglet Alter proclaiming a prophecy . The machinima was
part of the Grass theatrical collage at Museum Sorgdrager during the Art Month Ameland.
2011
TABULA MAGICA
November
Installation with continuous video play. Randomized imagery by Laetitia Boulud and Alex de Jong as
part of their “The hours are breathing faint and low” project for Art Month Ameland.
MOONDANCE
October - November
View cabinet and optical illusion device by Timo Mank. Scale model of a forest and video-loop as
contribution to the yearly Art Month Ameland. Publication of a printable booklet as PDF on the
backgrounds of the project.
BAR FORTUNA
October
Virtual model of a sailors café at Diabolus Art Space Jordain Secondlife. Meeting space and
sentimental model with exotic souvenirs and virtual beer. Built and maintained by Timo Mank.
SPACES AND REALITIES
June
Cross reality studio, meditation session and virtual ballet for Social Sunday. Timo Mank developed a
two hours triptych with soundscapes by Alex de Jong. Alex (aka Lodro Rigzin) was present meditating
at Motiv in the city of Delft as well as in Metaverse.
SING A SONG
April
Two hours live webcast by Timo Mank. Virtual meeting with life Twitter feed, mixing the singing
garden birds & morning sounds of Hollum Ameland streamed to the virtual studio in Secondlife.
TMSP TV
January - December
Cross media project and online TV format by Timo Mank. TMSP is short for “tweet me something
pretty” but it can also be read as “technology mediated social participation”. Visitors connected via
an app specially developed for iPad by Studio Klei Leeuwarden. The TV studio was hosted in Diabolus
Art Space Jordain with a dependence at the virtual Amsterdam Art District.
2010
BE QUIET EYES
November
Listening post in the meadow of gallery Dit Eiland, with a continuous soundscape by Alex de Jong. At
the Sorgdrager Museum Timo Mank presented a video assemblage of a virtual model of the meadow
and redundant grass silo. Exhibited during Art Month Ameland.
AVATAR ORCHESTRA METAVERSE
July
Choreography with shadow rendering for the machinima project HoT by Brigit Lichtenegger. Avatar
Orchestra Metavers (AOM) with a music composition by Pauline Oliveros.
74 SIMS THE ART RAFT
June
Storytelling project via Twitter by Timo Mank. Haglet Alter, Saxo Hendes and Roos Gartner set out
on a voyage to Greens Theorem which led them through 74 different Secondlife sims.
2010
POSTCARDS FROM AMELAND
May - June
Five virtual postcards by Timo Mank, as contribution to Marten Winters “Het Schip de Lading”
storytelling project.
2009
HAGLET IS HAPPY
November
The adventures of a happy avatar by Timo Mank. Slideshow running on AppleTV screened at the
Sorgdrager Museum as part of a video assemblage with various Haglet-o-mania, seaweed, and a
burning candle.
TEGENGAS
June
Cross reality protest movement by Timo Mank. Twitter stream to mobilize residents/visitors of
virtual Ameland Secondlife. The actions, discussions and meetings reached various local offline news
media. The NAM plans for drilling on Ameland to extract natural gas were abandoned later that year.
AMELANDSE NIEUWE
May
Fishing Game developed for the “Week van de Zee” campaign, to enhance awareness about
overfishing and the new Dutch Good Fish guide. The children of Hollum painted fish for the
interactive installation virtual Ameland Secondlife. Animations & scripts by Herman Vos.
2008
REALITY MIXING
November
As part of Art Month Ameland Timo Mank hosted a streaming connection between gallery Dit Eiland
and virtual Ameland in Secondlife. Gallery visitors saw themselves back as part of an ongoing TV
show in virtual space.
RAZENDEBOL
November
Artist in Residence and web project with visuals by Erik Alkema, Gerbrand Burger, Steven de Jong, Avi
Krispin, Timo Mank, Peter Mertens, Astrid Nobel, Cees van den Oever Harold Schellinx, Martin
Takken. Web based co-creation studio.
MAINLAND PEOPLE
November
Three channel HD-video loop by Avi Krispin in collaboration with Erik Alkema and Steven de Jong.
Developed and shot at West End Ameland. Sheep provided by Karel de Boer.
2008
OOKOI 2525
May
Artist in Residence with Peter Mertens and Harond Schellinx. Fifty seconds HD-video clip. 2525 was
programed at the Northern Film Festival 2008. The piece was selected among 60 videos for the One
Minute Award Ceremony 2010 World expo Shanghai China.
AMELAND SECONDLIFE
February
Playground and artist space by Timo Mank, hosted as standalone full region in Secondlife. Together
with 3D artist Friep Wilbers Timo Mank started to develop a gallery space and building area. Ameland
Secondlife was maintained until the end of 2010.
A CAP FOR HAGLET
January
Publication of a Picozine by Timo Mank. The making of a sailors cap together with Friep Wilbers aka
Wolk Writer. The cap is a replica of the 1920’s KNSM officers cap worn by Jan Jacob Slauerhoff and
became Haglet’s personal style icon in Secondlife.
2007
DIGITAL SUITES
November
Sound textures made in the Archipel Medialab on Ameland were continuously streamed to
Secondlife. Avatars Frans Peterman, Hars Hefferman and Haglet Alter were the guests of Pomodoro
Bolzano's art.think.box in Netherbeck and featured a three days ‘leve ookoi!' sound art
manifestation.
BIRD FLIGHT PLACARD
May
Five hour live webcast connecting Wiel Seuskens and five students from the Dutch Academy for Pop
Culture at the Archipel Medialab Ameland with the Ookoi residency at the Art Garage in Maastricht.
Switching channels between the sounds emanating from the island, and those originating in the Art
Garage. The video registrations by Timo Mank where part of the Video Vortex project at the
Netherlands Media Art Institute Amsterdam.
DOWNUNDER
May
New island discovered on Google Earth, updated with high-res satellite images of the Wadden area.
Cees van den Oever and Timo Mank developed five locations with soundscapes and found footage
for this new unknown island between Ameland and Terschelling. Web project and co-creation studio.
2006
LIGHT HOUSE PLACARD
November
A 10 hour live audio web stream with and within the lighthouse. Live captured sound, alternated
and/or mixed with live sound scapes from all over the world. Contributions by sound artists and
musicians from France, USA, Netherlands, Germany, Argentina. Video registrations by Timo Mank.
HAVENLAND
November
Artist in Residence and web project. Interface design by Cees van den Oever with video snippets by
Joke van Katwijk featuring video work by José M. Biscaya, Sun Ha Borger, Gebrand Burger, Sannah
den Engelsen, Henrike Gootjes and Anja Masling. Open Atelier with Michiel Koelink and students of
the NHL. Presented during Art Month Ameland. Web environment by Timo Mank.
SCOPE ART
January
Scope Art presentations of a video salon based on the material developed for Zandoog curated by
Timo Mank. The program was featured at Cinema-ScopeHamptons New York, Scope Art Miami and
Scope Art London.
2005
ZANDTREK
November
Interactive CD-ROM with Flash animation by Cees van den Oever, with images by Timo Mank. Tire
marks in the sand unleash exotic sound snippets. Radio intervals from stations all over the world mix
into unrepeatable sound textures. Presented in gallery Dit Eiland during Art Month Ameland.
PLACARD
May
First Dutch contribution to the international headphone festival Placard. Live performances by Ookoi,
interlaced with contributions from China, USA, France, Switzerland, Netherlands and Sweden.
ZANDOOG
May
Web event and a play with sand. Contributors: Herwolt Van Doornen, Constant Dullaart, Patrick
Gofre, Marga Houtman, Timo Mank, Peter Mertens, Harold Schellinx, Vera Stiphout, Martin Takken,
Dick Tuinder, Erik Visser, Anne de Vries.
2004
VLOED
November
Web animation with auto-scrolling script for Schateiland 2004. Image Timo Mank, music composition
by Cees van den Oever. Presented in gallery Dit Eiland during Art Month Ameland.
SCHATEILAND
May
Online open studio and insular workspace. Web animations, video clips and daily blog entries in a
collaborative effort to dig up Ameland treasures. With contributions by Marga Houtman, Timo Mank,
Peter Mertens, Cees vd Oever, Harold Schellinx, Martin Takken and Dick Tuinder.
2003
GELUIDEILAND
May
The first digital project took off as part of the Week van de Zee initiative aimed to emphasize the
cultural and ecological importance of the coastal area. Interactive sound-map with field recordings.
Harold Schellinx and Peter Mertens joined with Jet van Boxtel and school kids to produce a radio
program for VPRO's Oren Wassen. Flash animation Harold Schellinx .
2000
ARCHIPEL MEDIALAB
June
Renovation of a horse stable as part of art hotel Dit Eiland at the verge of Hollum on Ameland.
1998
VOYAGE TO SISARGAS
December
Second Haglet Bar organised at the Neno studio Amsterdam Nieuwe Meer. Visitors could win a
virtual cruise to the Sisargas Islands. The Dutch poet Jan Baeke joined the team as tour operator.
Sony Netherlands provided the Sony Mavica electronic still camera, the first electronic still camera,
to capture mugshots from the passengers to be uploaded in the virtual MS. Solaris under command
by captain Haglet.
HAGLET BAR
September
Cross reality meeting space established at the Neno studio Amsterdam Nieuwe Meer during the
Archipel Festival. The internet was just starting to get visual and artists where invited to claim their
own island in the virtual ocean hosted by haglet.com. The bar was developed by Timo Mank, Cees
van den Oever, Patricia Nauta and Hildegard Remmers. Webhost Planet Internet sponsored a free
link to generate traffic via their Dutch homepage.
PARTICIPANTS
Over the years a wide range of artists, musicians and writers from all over the world, contributed to
the Archipel Medialab projects. Some kindly contributed their existing work, others participated in
developing new projects and some formed something like a core of involved creatives, decisively
defining the special realm where the Archipel medialab flourished on Ameland for 10 lovely years.
Erik Alkema
Patrick Gofre
Cees van den Oever
Ana-R
Henrike Gootjes
Taisei Okazaki
Jan Baeke
Nico Hamerslag
Yagui Quintero
Ate M. Hes
Raphael Raccuia
Marga Houtman
Hildegard Remmers
Alex de Jong
Daniel Salber
Steven de Jong
Harold Schellinx
Adrián Juárez
Wiel Seuskens
Joke van Katwijk
Liz Solo
Jonas Kocher
Vera Stiphout
Michiel Koelink
Martin Takken
Avi Krispin
Dick Tuinder
Brigit Lichtenegger
Dirk Visser
Ralph Lichtensteiger
Erik Visser
Timo Mank
Herman Vos
Pablo Martinez
Anne de Vries
Anja Masling
Mark Webster
Peter Mertens
Friep Wilbers
Leandro Barzabal
José M. Biscaya
Martin de Boer
Sun Ha Borger
Laetitia Boulud
Jet van Boxtel
Brad Brace
Josien Buiter
Gebrand Burger
Cristian Carracedo
Lieselot van Damme
DaveX
José de Diego
Herwolt Van Doornen
Constant Dullaart
Sannah den Engelsen
Erebus
Björn Eriksson
Alberto De Michele
Jay Needham
Astrid Nobel
Zemoo