Theo Jansen’s Umerus

Umerus will make its "maiden walk" in Shrewsbury - photos by Loek van der Klis

Performance / kinetic sculpture

Venue : The Quarry Park
Date : Thursday 2 and Friday 3 July - on site
Saturday 4 to Sunday 12 July – public demonstration
Time : 10am – 6pm
FREE

For Theo Jansen, ‘It’s not easy being God; there are plenty of disappointments along the way. But on the few occasions that things work out, being God is the most wonderful thing in the world’.

Dutch engineer and kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen has been creating mechanical, skeletal creature-like devices named strandbeests since 1990. Made of really basic Blue Peter stuff - plastic electrical tubing and 2 litres water bottles - these gigantic, complex beings get their energy from the wind, so they don’t have to eat like regular animals.

Theo’s ultimate wish is to release herds of these new species to roam the world. And while he doesn’t quite get to do that in Shrewsbury, you can see his latest species Umerus – all 13 metres long of it - in The Quarry Park.

www.strandbeest.com

Umerus - the Exhibition

A spectacular 14th century stained glass window provides the dramatic backdrop for Umerus as it resides in St Mary's Church, Shrewsbury - awaiting the arrival of it's creator, Theo Jansen - see lecture details below.

St Mary's is open Monday - Friday, 10am - 5pm; Saturday & Sunday, 10am - 4pm

St Mary's is a redundant church cared for by the Churches Conservation  Trust.

Theo Jansen presentation

Illustrated Talk 

Time : 4pm
Venue : St Mary's Church, St Mary's Place, Shrewsbury
Tickets : £5
Saturday 11 July
Booking essential due to high demand: 01743 281 281

Abandoning a research career in physics and engineering, Theo Jansen devotes his time to applying a fascinating mix of the basic principles of Darwinian evolution with engineering to invest his machine-creatures with increasingly sophisticated animal-like abilities. This is a rare opportunity to hear the maverick Jansen, who awarded the 2006 Honorary Prix d’Ars prize, 2006 for his “singular contribution to art and science”.

Photography : Loek van der Klis

Updates

Shropshire-based artist Martin Smith has travelled to Holland to meet Theo Jansen prior to him coming to Shrewsbury to build Umerus. See his blog here

Martin's photos of Umerus in Holland can be seen on our blog here

Adverse weather conditions on a Dutch beach have led to the world première of Umerus in action taking place in Shrewsbury. More here