Making things work

posted Mar 4, 2011, 7:38 PM by Diego S. Maranan   [ updated Mar 4, 2011, 7:54 PM ]
I remember the very first thought entering my mind back in 2008 when this Belgian artist Angelo Vermeulen presented his project named Biomodd to the UP Open University. The concepts behind it were right up my alley, but making a statement of molding them together in the context of an art project, even to the point of explicit defiance to conventional wisdom... that was new to me. And perhaps this knack for going against the grain was what attracted UPOU in the first place. If my institution wanted in, I knew I’d be in the thick of it, eventually. And by the time it became serious in early 2009, I definitely was.

The creation of synergy between technology and biology will always be the most obvious element of Biomodd. How can these computers, algae and plants benefit from each other? Can animals actually be added to the mix? This project is a symbolic statement that a wide array of possibilities exists out there. But another aspect that deserves a lot of credit is the community we built around Biomodd – over a hundred people from different walks of life coming together to shape what was to become the sculpture that was showcased in UP Los Baños and the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in De La Salle College of Saint Benilde.

- Al Francis Librero
Los Baños
2009