{"id":2641,"date":"2024-10-01T16:38:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T15:38:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/?page_id=2641"},"modified":"2026-04-22T16:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:31:11","slug":"luxury-of-air","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/?page_id=2641","title":{"rendered":"Lux(ury) of Air"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the educational project Lux(ury) of Air<\/em>, I invite people to look at the sky\u2014a beautiful scene where one of our biggest crises is happening: air pollution. Though often invisible, it affects our health and the climate. In the workshop we ask: what makes up our atmosphere? How dependent are we on it? Is air a necessity or a luxury?<\/p>\n

In the workshops we work outside by observing the sky through drawing, writing, and data collection; producing cyanotypes in collaboration with light as an active agent; and drying textiles in the wind, allowing environmental conditions to shape the outcomes. Through measuring light\u2014the most basic element\u2014and collecting data in Lux, students capture sunlight in cyanotype prints: the deeper the blue, the sunnier the day, but also the cleaner the air, since a deep blue sky often indicates fewer pollutants, while a lighter blue can signal higher levels of pollution. These cyanotypes alongside textile-prints (sublimation) of sky-observations are placed on a scarf, a snapshot of the sky. Even though it may not seem radical to bring students outside their classrooms, it nevertheless is\u2014within education we mostly work indoors, which as such materially shapes how we think.<\/p>\n

The workshop had different iterations \u2013more details below:
*Iteration 1 \u2013 Graphic Lyceum Rotterdam
*Iteration 2 \u2013 CASE Arts\u2764\ufe0fSciences Symposium
*Iteration 3 \u2013 Xiamen University, China: two week long ICI Summer School.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In January 2025, the first iteration took place at the Graphic Lyceum Rotterdam as part of a craft and maker course. Students used cyanotype, sublimation, and light meters to make the atmosphere visible. Thank you Maria van der Gaag for your generous support and idea’s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On February 6, 2025, the interdisciplinary symposium Arts\u2764\ufe0fSciences: Vakoverstijgend Onderwijs voor de Toekomst<\/em> celebrated 2.5 years of CASE (Centre for Arts, Sciences, and Education). The event, held in Amsterdam, brought together art, science, and education to explore how these fields could contribute in dealing with complex societal challenges. Among the selected workshops was Lux(ury) of Air<\/em>. We explored, and reflected on, materials and making as bridges between art and science. The results were published in KunstZone<\/em> magazine, in the article Data, Air and Matter<\/em>. Thank you, CARADT for the support.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Fotograaf Jonathan Andrew<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I was invited to lead a two-week workshop in June 2025, at the ICI Xiamen University, China. The ICI is a joint partnership between Xiamen University and the University for the Creative Arts (UCA), U.K. The workshop invited design students to look at the sky not just as a physical space, but as a vital force\u2014an expression of Qi. Rooted in Chinese philosophy, Qi encompasses breath, air, energy, and life itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through observation, using tools like the light meter to measure sky conditions, alongside reflection and hands-on work with materials such as drawing, photography, cyanotype, sublimation-printing on textiles, students explored Qi.

As an extension of the workshop, the students also took part in an exchange \u2018Air Mail<\/em>\u2019 \u2013air as a shared atmosphere: an invitation to continue the dialogue. Each student created a postcard reflecting on the air in Xiamen, addressed to students in the Material Ecologies<\/em> minor at Avans University. These postcards traveled from China to the Netherlands, by airplane and bicycle, arriving in September. In November, Dutch students responded with their own messages from the Netherlands: (visual) reflections on the Dutch sky. We need to keep on corresponding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Institute of Creativity and Innovation (ICI), Xiamen University<\/a>
ICI Summer School Workshop & Lectures<\/a>
CARADT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the educational project Lux(ury) of Air, I invite people to look at the sky\u2014a beautiful scene where one of our biggest crises is happening: air pollution. Though often invisible, it affects our health and the climate. In the workshop we ask: what makes up our atmosphere? How dependent are we on it? Is air … <\/p>\n

Lees verder “Lux(ury) of Air”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2883,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2641"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3025,"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2641\/revisions\/3025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studiodust.nl\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}