Artist Theo Jansen is known for creating lifelike kinetic sculptures out of plastic tubes and lemonade bottles. His imagination and technical knowledge help him create graceful beach faring creatures. Jansen calls his kinetic sculptures “Animari” beach creatures or “Strandbeests”.
About “Animari” or “Strandbeests”
These huge insect-like structures are designed to move independently and gracefully with the wind, capable of surviving on their own. They can walk, capture and store wind, and some can even anchor themselves in the sand when the wind threatens to blow them away.
How these amazing creations move:
These miraculous kinetic sculptures feed on wind and flee from water. They are made with recycled plastic bottles and small plastic tubes. The sculptures also make use of fan blades to compress air in plastic bottles, which in turn power the Strandbeests. The number of tubes and the length of each tube decide the movements of Jansen’s creations.
Jansen has the dream that one day these creatures will actually be able to reproduce, so he is always looking to make improvements in their designs by adding new features to expand their capabilities.
His work has no doubt captured the attention of millions, and his work is a good example of how human ingenuity will continue to tap the potential of natural resources in unprecedented ways.
