Children of the Light, the Amsterdam-based artist duo of Christopher Gabriel and Arnout Hulskamp, is recognisable for using light as their primary medium. Inspired by the cosmos and its encompassing physical phenomena, they create immersive performances, videos, sculptures, and installations that evoke dreamlike scenes in a wide range of spaces:  from clubs to churches and festivals. What these spaces share is a sense of collectivity, transcendence, and introspection. We visited Children of the Light in their studio to interview them on their creative process and inspiration for their piece ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’, now on show at Nxt Museum.

Nxt: What is ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’?

CHRISTOPHER: ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’ is a kinetic, light-based artwork, made up of five luminous rotating rings, seemingly floating in space. While each ring moves to its own cycle, the five align periodically within the work’s cycle. These moments of synchronicity are symbolic reminders of the cycles and patterns, from the organic to the celestial. Equally, at times and from certain points of view, each disk seems like a black hole, or a portal into the dark, a depthless centre of a planet.

‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’ is an intimate work, as it creates these moments of self-discovery. When you think you are looking at yourself through an illusory mirror, you quickly discover someone else. It is a very intimate moment, as you mirror yourself in this person. At the same time, it is about the scale of the cosmos and the idea of staring at the Earth’s core.

What are your most essential tools to create your artworks?

ARNOUT: I guess it’s still paper and pen.

CHRISTOPHER: We can not go without our sketchbooks. It might not make sense to look at the doodles, but somehow, those lines always bring you somewhere.

How do you manage working as an artist duo? What are each of your strengths and focuses?

CHRISTOPHER: As an artist duo, we have the luxury of being two. Where we cross, we multiply; where one lacks, the other can fulfil. 

I graduated from the graphic design department at Gerrit Rietveld Academy. Back then, it was an analogue world, and the 2D nature of the field was never enough, so I started early on to explore how a 2D element could become physical and 3D in space. I often used light to project on mirrors and directly on people, making them the canvas.

ARNOUT: I graduated from the Faculty of Art, Media & Technology, so I was very much into software. I developed my own VJ software to create glitch-like landscapes that turned the algorithmic structures from video codecs into the output. It was a nice surprise that our work in the exhibition can be found between Rosa Menkman’s work, which touches on such themes and explores glitch aesthetics

Can you give us a topline rundown of the types of software and hardware that you use for such a project (for the geeks)?

ARNOUT: Blender, Resolume, Madmapper, Unity, OpenFrameworks, Capture, DaVinci, Affinity, Supercollider, Ableton.

One of my teachers always said, “Software is a choice.” In our case, we always try to match each project with a programmer who we think makes the best fit. We try to stick to any of the shelf eco systems, but we do write a lot of add-on scripts for the different software.

For hardware goes the same: we use different types of controllers, but for sure also develop our own printed circuit boards (PCBs) – if needed for the project.

‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’ is reminiscent of the first image that visualises a black hole. Tell us about the significance of the black hole in relation to your work.

CHRISTOPHER: In our mind, a black hole is a place where light is absent. In our culture, darkness can appear scary or daunting. For us, it’s always important to stay on the side of stimulating questions and curiosity and to totally be submerged in the moment. 

Our point is never to scare you, which doesn’t mean darkness can not make you uncomfortable, the same way extreme light sources can. Of course, the idea of light and dark is a hairline, but when you think of how it is in relation to our daily rhythms, there is always a transition to darkness or towards light.

In ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’, a black hole is very physical, yet gentle, as you know it is created out of light. It is a space within itself, an inner space for people to discover silence.

ARNOUT: People sometimes forget that without darkness, there is no light. Let’s say you are totally enlightened. Then what? Life stops there? A red thread through our works is this constant play between dark and light, which is a reflection of life itself. 

Your installation is deeply immersive, but in it, you aim to dissolve spatial boundaries. What is the secret of creating ethereal experiences?

ARNOUT: To create an ethereal experience, we need to make our work as physical as possible, to be able to feel as much as possible with your physical senses. It is a choreography between light and sound, but also plays with the sense of touch. Or the idea that it is touchable in this case. The idea is that this carefully crafted choreography brings you into a trance, suspending your disbelief, letting you leave this earth for a moment.

CHRISTOPHER: An ethereal feeling is to feel a sense of oneness with the cosmos.

What does the leitmotif of the circle mean to you?

CHRISTOPHER: A circle has no corners, and when standing within it, it is our horizon. Everyone has been given the same curve. There is a strong sense of equality in this shape. It is open, protective, inclusive, and complete. It is the Sun, the Earth, maybe an orbit, and of course, it refers to nature’s own infinite cycles.

ARNOUT: For us, the circle is maybe the closest to the elements we work with. It is charged with the concept of eternity, wholeness, the infinite and the sublime.

What do you want visitors to feel when they experience ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’ at Nxt Museum?

CHRISTOPHER: While experiencing ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW’ we would like the visitor to feel a sense of peace and belonging. That we are all One.

ARNOUT: We felt that our work is more important than ever in these unrestful times when populists and capitalists try to separate us. Our title, ‘ALL-TOGETHER-NOW,’ makes more explicit than ever what our work is about: to let you feel that we are all ONE. Astronauts and cosmonauts travelling to space and seeing the Earth in its totality know that what they experience is the so-called overview effect. We try to create that effect here on Earth.

You’ve spoken about treating light as matter. What does that mean to you and your work?

CHRISTOPHER: To talk about Light as Matter gives light some physicality. Light is everywhere, and by talking about it as Matter helps us to give light a character. We often refer to a beautiful poem by Otto Piene from the ‘Zero Movement’. He defined this so well:

“How old is light?
Where does light come from?
Who saw light first?
Does light come to the eye?
Does the eye come to the light?
What does a kilogram of light cost?
To whom does light belong?
How transparent is light?
How deep is the light sea?
How deeply does light penetrate the skin?
Is light averse to light?
How does light dress itself?
How often does light bathe?
Where does it bathe?
Where does light sleep?
With whom does light sleep?
Whom does light love?
CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT”