SPARK Bilbao, a conversation with Daan Roosegaarde

Art / Art Calendar, 22 February 2022, by C. Mauer

SPARK Bilbao,

a conversation with Daan Roosegaarde

©SPARK Roosegaarde

SPARK, a dreamscape of light sparks

The Dutch artist's latest work will be a dreamscape of biodegradable light sparks as an alternative for the much-missed fireworks tradition. SPARK will have its world premiere at "The Wellbeing Summit for Social Change" from 1-3 June in Bilbao-Biscay, Spain.

Daan Roosegaarde is an artist, designer and inventor. He studied at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam.

He founded his studio in 2007 and has since been realising projects with his team of designers, manager and engineers to show the beauty of a sustainable future. His artworks and designs are intended to improve people's daily lives, stimulate their imagination and in this way combat the climate crisis. Daan Roosegaarde shows prototypes for the cities of tomorrow with his projects like Smog Free Project (World's first smog vacuum cleaner which creates clean air parks), Gates of Light (60 light-reflective buildings illuminated by the headlamps of passing cars) or Space Waste Lab (The living lab with the European Space Agency to visualise, capture, and upcycle space waste into sustainable experiences).

He is recognised for his inventions by Forbes, Wired, the World Economic Forum and he is a member of the NASA Innovation Team.

He has already solved many problems or identified them in the first place and proposed alternatives. His creativity seems endless. One of the many restrictions of our time was the ban on fireworks, otherwise the highlight of many celebrations, which unites people. Daan Roosegaarde has tackled this issue in his latest project and developed SPARK, organic fireworks, is a sustainable alternative forcommunity events and celebrations.

©SPARK Roosegaarde

See the full project on studioroosegaarde.net

Alethea & Art Magazine: Your studio creates landscapes of the future. Can you tell me your message with SPARK Bilbao?

Daan Roosegaarde: We live in a time in which we need to reconsider our society’s values, and not only focus on industrial and commercial values. Values like the right to clean air, clean space, clean water, clean energy, but also look at how we can improve the quality of our lives in urban environments in a more sustainable way. I try to transform our fear of the future into curiosity, lightness and poetry, by designing realistic alternatives.

SPARK is an innovative performance of thousands of organic sparks of light that float through the air. The inspiration for SPARK came from the magical lights of nature, such as fireflies, flocks of birds and our galaxy of stars, but also from the urge to celebrate collectively in a more sustainable way. I felt the desire to update our cherished and culturally ingrained festive rituals such as fireworks. SPARK is a sustainable alternative for the traditional and polluting methods of celebration. The artwork invites visitors to wonder and reflect on their connection to themselves, each other and the environment; a celebration of the interconnectedness between people and nature.

The fourth project of the DreamScapes series

Alethea & Art Magazine: You are collaborating with the Draiflessen Collection, The Wellbeing Summit for Social Change and Media.Monks for this project. Can you tell me something about how this cooperation came about and how it came about that the fireworks are taking place in Bilbao?

Daan Roosegaarde: Draiflessen Collection is an art museum that approaches themes that move between areas of tension such as tradition and the future. And the Wellbeing Summit brings together leaders from around the world to advance individual and collective wellbeing for those working on the front lines of social change. We, the three partners, reinforce our mission to build a better future by raising awareness about the importance of our well-being through art and innovation. It is the fourth project of our DreamScapes series. A DreamScape is a dream turned into reality to create a brighter and more sustainable future.

The first three DreamScapes were GROW, Urban Sun and Seeing Stars. GROW is an homage to the beauty of agriculture, Urban Sun cleans public spaces from the coronavirus to ensure a greater sense of well-being and Seeing Stars brings the stars back to the streets of your city.

DAAN ROOSEGAARDE at the World Economic Forum Davos 2015

©DAAN ROOSEGAARDE

Alethea & Art Magazine: Will SPARK Bilbao also be seen in other countries?

Daan Roosegaarde: SPARK will be exhibited in Bilbao-Biscay (Spain) at The Wellbeing Summit, and we are also in contact with Utrecht, Amsterdam and Rotterdam (the Netherlands) to exhibit SPARK as a sustainable city celebration. The artwork can continue to be exhibited as a sustainable alternative for community events, such as Chinese New Year, the Olympics, the Fourth of July or New Year’s Eve.

A new sustainable celebration

Alethea & Art Magazine: What is the difference between normal fireworks and SPARK? Do you need different lighting conditions?

Daan Roosegaarde: SPARK transforms traditional and polluting methods of celebration such as fireworks, balloons, and confetti into a new sustainable celebration. It is an innovative performance of a cloud made of biodegradable materials, light and natural wind. Through a combination of design and technology, thousands of light sparks made are moved silently by the ever-changing wind; inspired by fireflies, flocks of birds and the galaxy of stars. This is how these fireworks appear in the air.

Alethea & Art Magazine: Will the composition also be accompanied by music?

Daan Roosegaarde: SPARK is silent, and focussed on a more internal celebration, rather than loud bangs, inspired by the visual beauty and vividness of the artwork. The loud bangs of fireworks are often overlooked, but these noises created by firework explosions could damage hearing, trigger mental health episodes, and can lead to life-threatening injuries to animals.

Alethea & Art Magazine: What do fireworks mean to you personally?

Daan Roosegaarde: Our current situation can feel restrictive, because of this period of isolation due to COVID-19, and the fact that traditional polluting ways of celebrating, such as with fireworks, are getting prohibited everywhere. To maintain festive traditions in a new way I created SPARK, a fairytale-like, sustainable community celebration. SPARK is a place of wonder which triggers reflection and shows a new sustainable alternative of celebrating together. With SPARK we invite people to become part of the journey towards an environmentally-friendly future.

©SPARK Roosegaarde

Alethea & Art Magazine: What events or people inspire you?

Daan Roosegaarde:There is a short film called The Overview Effect, where astronauts tell about their experience and the insights they received seeing the Earth from space. Learning, really seeing the importance of our relationship with our environment. Must see! The film can be watched on youtube: https://youtu.be/CHMIfOecrlo.

I am also inspired by Wim Pijbes. He is a Dutch art historian, former director of the Kunsthal in Rotterdam, Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar. Eventually he became the director of the Stichting Droom en Daad. Wim is very headstrong and both with Stichting Droom en Daad, and from within himself, he invests in the city of Rotterdam. He keeps giving the city incentives!

Remain faithful to your dreams.

Alethea & Art Magazine: What can people learn from nature to improve your life?

Daan Roosegaarde: I grew up with a father who was a science teacher. The principles of physics have always fascinated me. I used to ask him: “How does this work and why is it so? What if we did this, instead of?” As many children do, the secret, however, is to remain faithful to your dreams. Be curious, don’t be scared and don’t wait for someone else to fix it. Observe the world with amazement and belief that everything is possible. I’m very curious about your relationship with biomimicry. I’ve been inspired by ants, jellyfish, butterflies and algae; to use principles from nature into your design, makes it not only beautiful, but also functional. You get so many little presents when you work with nature. Once you start working with it, you don’t wanna go back!

Alethea & Art Magazine: Thank you very much for the conversation.