Richard Vijgen

Born in Tilburg, Holland in 1982, Richard Vijgen is a designer and information researcher. He designs and produces data visualizations and interactive data installations, using codes, pixels and 3D printers. His objective is to make the invisible visible and make data “capable of meaning”. His work is deeply rooted in the digital world but always maintains its connection with the physical and social space as well. He has received the recognition of many international institutions and been highlighted in professional publications such as Ars Electronica, ZKM, and The Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Vijgen writes about digital culture and teaches Information Design and Interactive Architecture at the School of Art and Design in Arnhem.

Connected by Air, 2018
Data visualization

Connected by Air proposes a contemporary image of the sky over Palermo, a vector of people, things and information. The artist creates a window with a panoramic view of all the data and objects crossing the sky, including wireless signals, satellites, airplanes, and air conditions and currents. In Palermo, the sky can be seen not only from the street but also in the ceiling frescoes of many of Palermo’s historic palazzi, painted during the Italian Renaissance. Typically, the artists used the sotto in su’ perspective technique and the quadratura genre, a highly realistic perspective that extends the architectural space. With these techniques as inspiration, the artist has created a visualization of data in a sotto in su’ projection of the sky over Palermo.