DRIFT

Founders – Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta
Studio – Amsterdam
Founded – 2007
DRIFT, Franchise Freedom, 2017. Special edition of Franchise Freedom in Rotterdam during Covid19 pandemic as a sign of hope for the collective freedom, May 2020

DRIFT, Franchise Freedom, 2017. Performed at Burning Man, September 2018. Photography: Rahi Rezvani. Courtesy of DRIFT

“Evolution is our goal; becoming better people. Technology is only helping us to get there."

Portrait of Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta. Photography: JW Kaldenbach

Dutch artists Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta founded studio DRIFT in 2007. With a multidisciplinary team of 64, they work on experiential sculptures, installations, and performances. DRIFT manifests the phenomena and hidden properties of nature with the use of technology in order to learn from the earth’s underlying mechanisms and to re-establish our connection to it. With both depth and simplicity, DRIFT’s works of art illuminate parallels between man-made and natural structures through deconstructive, interactive, and innovative processes. The artists raise fundamental questions about what life is and explore a positive scenario for the future.

One of DRIFT’s most notable projects, Franchise Freedom, is a performative installation consisting of hundreds of autonomously flying drones that simulate a flock of starlings. The work explores the relationship between man, nature, and technology, and questions the human concept of freedom and social constructs. Franchise Freedom has flown across the globe, from Amsterdam’s IJ waterfront to the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11.

DRIFT’s work is featured in the permanent collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others. DRIFT has realized numerous exhibitions and projects around the world. Their work has been exhibited at Victoria and Albert Museum (2009, 2015); Met Museum (2010); Stedelijk Museum (2018); UTA Artist Space (2019); Garage Museum (2019); Mint Museum (2019); Biennale di Venezia (2015); Pace Gallery (2017), amongst others. Their work is held in the permanent collections of the LACMA; Rijksmuseum; SFMOMA; Stedelijk Museum; and Victoria and Albert Museum. In 2014, DRIFT was awarded the Arte Laguna Prize, Venice.

DRIFT, In 20 steps, 2017. Syntopia, Iris van Herpen, Paris Fashion Week, 2018

DRIFT, In 20 steps, 2017. Mixed media. 1,340 mm × 3,100 mm × 11,440 mm. Installation view, Glasstress Gotika, Venice Biennale, Italy, 2017. Courtesy of DRIFT

DRIFT, Franchise Freedom, 2017. Performed at Burning Man, September 2018

DRIFT, Franchise Freedom, 2017. Performed at Burning Man, September 2018. Photography: Rahi Rezvani. Courtesy of DRIFT

DRIFT's

DRIFT, EGO, 2020. L’Orfeo, Wilmink Theater Enschede, Netherlands. Photography: Marco Borggreve. Courtesy of DRIFT

DRIFT Drifter, 2017. Installation view, Armory Show, New York, 2017

DRIFT, Drifter, 2017. Concrete, robotics and a tracking system. 4 x 2 x 2 meters. Installation view, Armory Show, New York, 2017. Courtesy of DRIFT