ABOUT

Gijs Hennen (NL, artist/designer) creates large-scale installations by combining and orchestrating existing devices and machines. Through this approach, he investigates factory environments and industrial techniques, demonstrating that functionality can possess its own intrinsic beauty. His work centers on the impact of human-made systems and our relationship with machines and industry. He explores how humans maintain their position within an increasingly industrialized landscape. As a maker, Gijs operates at the intersection of art and product design.

In the work ROTO P1, he investigated the technique of rotational molding. For this process, he uses an old gas tank as a mold. The mold is placed within an installation that generates both rotating and rocking movements. Through this combined motion, the polypropylene (PP) material is able to move three-dimensionally within the mold. Under the influence of heat, the material melts and adheres to the inner surface of the mold. The entire production process takes one hour, including the cooling of the mold. The resulting spherical form is then transformed into a lamp. By adjusting variables such as temperature and rotation or processing time, a range of different structures and surface textures can be achieved.