Alex Vermeulen
SOH Alex Vermeulen, SOHQ, formerly known under the name Alex Vermeulen, is a Dutch artist known for his multimedia projects, films. film books and music.
SOH Alex Vermeulen is a contemporary Dutch multi-media artist who has worked under his own name as well as SOH-States of Humanity and Syndicaat Alex Vermeulen. Since 2015, he has worked exclusively under the name SOH Alex Vermeulen.
His work includes film books, films, performances, sculptures, installations, and contemporary music. A longtime resident of Amsterdam, in recent years, Vermeulen has divided his time between Amsterdam, the island of Bali, and Brooklyn, New York.
Early life and education
Born in the southern city of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, Vermeulen is largely an autodidact. However, he studied psychology, philosophy, architecture and design at the Design Academy Eindhoven before launching off on his career in his mid-twenties. His primary early influences were film makers such as the Nouvelle Vague director Claude Chabrol and he got inspired by the obscure movie ""J'irai comme un cheval fou" by Fernando Arrabal, the absurdist movie Themroc by Claude Faraldo, the theatrical movie 'Querelle" by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the cinematographic fantasy world of Georges Méliès. Vermeulen’s fascination with films would inspire him to put a new spin on an old form – film books. Usually produced to document an existing film, Vermeulen’s versions documented imaginary films in such a way that readers often assumed they were. His visual scripts thus played with the space between reality and imagination a theme seen throughout his work. This film book projects consisting a publication containing the film story with film-stills; on these stills Vermeulen's sculptures function as props.Recognition
Vermeulen would first achieve recognition in 1984, when the curators Van Abbemuseum, South Netherlands' began a long period of collaboration with the artist that would last for more than a decade. This would lead to exhibitions and purchases for their permanent collection.In 1993 Vermeulen moved to Amsterdam and founded in 1995 "SOH-States of Humanity" and the Syndicaat foundation. A year later he presented his final film-book, as part of a large installation, Fuga Futuri, at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum. The chief character introduced in this show for the first time was the stylized humanoid "Eggy", named after his egg-like shape.
Syndicaat Foundation
The Syndicaat Foundation operated as a production company for his projects. Concurrently, he terminated all collaborations with international galleries. He registered the trademark "SOH", becoming the first artist to produce his work under a brand name.SOH-States of Humanity
Since 1996 Alex Vermeulen has been developing ‘States of Humanity” and started working under the name SOH Alex Vermeulen. SOH is a total-concept art project which consists of distinct parts. SOH focuses on themes regarding the counterpoints where the individual meets society: religion, violence, individualism, reflectivity, spirituality, contemplation, perceptivity and sexuality. SOH Alex Vermeulen uses films, photographs, sculptures, installations, music and interdisciplinary collaborations to represent the essence of our current ‘zeitgeist’. He questions the mechanisms fundamental to its existence, future direction, and our current dilemmas.SOH is a comprehensive work of art to which every participant makes a subjective contribution from their personal point of view and discipline. The various facets of the project come about because of this Gesamtkunstwerk.
So far, in collaboration with, among others, architect Greg Lynn, filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan, composer David Shea, performer Kate Strong, author Robert Greene etc. 31 SOH projects have been produced such as books, installations, exhibitions, sculptures in the public space, an Opera, iBooks, video clips, a feature film, etc.
Most Notable Projects
- SOH1 The Architectonic film
- SOH3 The Mental Urban Labyrinth,
- SOH10 The Opera
- SOH19 States of Nature
- SOH29 The Epic
- SOH17 '' The Mood Rooms''
Public Places
Multi Media Events
In the following years SOH Alex Vermeulen and Syndicaat produced more than 31 multi-media events including SOH3, the Mental Urban Labyrinth, with curator Jan Debbaut, at the Van Abbemuseum and SOH1, the Architectural Film at MuHKA, the Museum for Contemporary Art in Antwerp, Belgium, both in 1999. In April 2000 he edited the artist edition trailer of American Psycho presented at the premiere in New York.The book States of Humanity was released with these two exhibitions. The States of Humanity book is to be a travel guide for a present-day metropolis: a manual full of cross-references, coincidences, allusions, stories, pictures, and associations.
The structure of the publication should give 'the visitor' a feeling that the different components refer to the planological structure of an imaginary world - a conglomerate of alleyways, streets, boulevards and squares, each with its own character and social traffic.
Vermeulen has invited the following writers to act as 'architects' for the planology of the book: filmmaker Lodge Kerrigan, the philosophers Arthur Danto and Richard Shusterman, composer David Shea, architect Greg Lynn, the writing team Martin and Annette Meyers, director of interdisciplinary dance theater Ron Bunzl and the author Robert Greene, author of books on strategy. In 2003, Vermeulen collaborated with composer David Shea to write and direct "The Opera" for the Holland Festival. Claire Van Der Poel captured the production process of "SOH10 The Opera" in her documentary film titled: SOH10 the Opera promo documentary.
Films
Beginning in 2000 Vermeulen directed a series of films including. For the Nederlandse Programma Stichting he directed the short dance movie One Ride Pony. for the European Union sponsored Democracy Conference SOH13 the Power of Collective Intelligence and Awareness. For the Holland Festival, Amsterdam he directed cinematographic opera: SOH10 the Opera in collaboration with composer David SheaThe Opera, a film partially recorded and simultaneously presented alongside a live performance at the Holland Festival in 2003, aimed to create a seamless blend of onstage action and film fragments, resulting in a total theatre experience. The live performance was captured on stage and later edited into the film, with the goal of releasing the entire project as an independent feature. It was only in 2022 that Vermeulen completed the feature film. For personal reasons, Vermeulen was not able to finish the film earlier.
Art and Technology
In 2006 SOH Alex Vermeulen mounted a large installation with 88 enormous black polyester eggs topped with solar panels floating in a pond at Eindhoven University of Technology. Dubbed "SOH19 States of Nature," the project combines physics, art, technology, spirituality, solar cult, and sustainable energy. Created in association with the Natuurkunst Foundation and some Applied Physics university students, the aim of this self-sustained installation is to lift a levitating Buddha sculpture using the sun's energy!Part of the project was the release of the international catalogue : SOH19 States of Nature; Sun enlightenment Which tells the story of the evolution of the project and its participants, focussing on topics like physics and art, technology and spirituality, solar cult and sustainable energy, biological processes and social interaction.
Essays from Marcel Möring, Vincent Icke, Robert Greene, IJsbrand van Veelen, Koert van Mensvoort en Jan van Adrichem.
SOH Alex Vermeulen & Frans Snik, SOH19 States of Nature; Sun enlightenment, Pijama Publishers, 144 p., release September 12, 2006
Later Work
In 2012 Vermeulen has stopped producing Eggy sculptures. All Eggies so far did not have any arms. However the last Eggy has arms; which could either express a "Hurray" or form together with the legs a X shape, a symbol that could be seen as a reference to the unknown. At the same time Vermeulen closed his studio in Amsterdam. In 2014 he set up new studios in both Bali and New York City. For political reasons, he permanently closed his New York studio in 2017.The Epic
In 2013, Vermeulen began working on a new cinematographic project, The Epic is a multifaceted collaborative project loosely based on the Ramayana Epic written by Valmiki and the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare and takes place in a sprawling Asian metropolis named Raksasa Kota in the year 2088. The stars of the production are a group of young Balinese dancers between the ages of six and ten. Rien Bekkers designed the sumptuous costumes. The music is composed by David Shea. The large interactive installation will consist of a series of monumental photos, a suggested feature written and directed by Vermeulen shot in collaboration, among others, with photographer Doddy Obenk.As part of the production, Dutch filmmaker Peter Mariouw Smit, has been directed a documentary, The Epic: Behind the Scenes.