In the Eyes of Sibylla Merianby Giny Vos
Two six-metre-high, insect-like eyes gaze down at the world below from the façade of the Naturalis parking garage. They are based on the compound eyes of the Merian's brush, a Dutch moth found in the Naturalis collection and named after the 17th-century naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian.
Not only are the eyes objects to behold, they also seem to look back at you. The artwork responds to its surroundings, changing with the sun, and thus evokes the realisation that even the smallest life is valuable.
Origins of Imaginationby Dominic Harris
The free LiveScience hall features the interactive artwork Origins of Imagination by British multimedia artist Dominic Harris. Visitors who have a coloured butterfly drawing scanned can see how AI transforms it into a realistic-looking, moving butterfly. All the butterflies fly together in swarms on a large screen.
Artworksby Tord Boontje
Throughout the museum, there are nearly 100 wall panels, constructed as collages with a mix of photography and drawings. The visual stories, depicting a wondrous world based on nature, were created by Dutch industrial designer Tord Boontje. Boontje lives and works in London and is known for his jewellery, lamps, fabrics and furniture featuring rich floral and animal motifs. Naturalis is a place of inspiration for him.
Source reference Tord Boontje
Texturesby Iris van Herpen
The internationally renowned Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen has given the stone façade a unique sense of depth with her patterns of three-dimensional relief sculptures. Inspired by evolution and the shapes it produces, she designed 263 panels covering a total length of over 1 kilometer, spread across the interior and exterior of the museum. Thanks to a technique developed especially for this design, the concrete forms appear silky smooth. It is as if they are made of fabric, just like the innovative couture that Van Herpen creates for celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Björk.
Homo erectus pithecanthropusdoor Kennis & Kennis
Zo zou Dubois' Homo erectus eruitgezien kunnen hebben: rechtopgaand, met vooruitstekende wenkbrauwbogen en lange armen. Het beeld is gemaakt door Adrie en Alfons Kennis gemaakt, broers en kunstenaars die reconstructies maken van uitgestorven soorten en gefascineerd zijn door menselijke evolutie. Ze maakten dit beeld van Homo erectus op basis van afgietsels van de botten die Dubois op Java vond, aangevuld met wat we weten over Homo erectus van andere vindplaatsen in Afrika, Georgië en Indonesië.
De reconstructie is te zien in zaal De vroege mens.
Lust for Lifeby Giny Vos
The digital artwork called Lust for Life, like the artwork “In the Eyes of Sibylla Merian”, was created by Giny Vos and has adorned the façade of the collection tower since 2000. The dark shape represents Lake Victoria in Africa. Thanks to the coloured lights moving across it, it can even be admired from the city centre after dark. These lights behave like micro-organisms in water. When you look at cells in water under a microscope, you see them moving, colliding, growing, multiplying and bursting, just like the lights on our building.
