Bjørn Staal

Bjørn Staal is an artist and software developer based in Oslo, Norway.

His work explores the dynamic interactions between computational systems, human perception & behavior. With more than a decade of experience in multidisciplinary design and software development, Staal co-founded the experimental art and design studio Void in 2015. Focused mainly on the development of large-scale interactive installations, Void has gained international recognition for its work at the intersection of design, architecture, technology, and art.

Since leaving the studio in 2023, Bjørn has focused on his own artistic practice, exploring how algorithms can enrich our understanding of what it means to be human in an age where more and more of our agency is being outsourced. Staal’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, as part of online and physical exhibitions as well as installations in public spaces. In September 2024, Staal had his first solo exhibition at Wintercircus in Ghent, Belgium.

Irregular Polyhedron Study #1

2014

installation

Elastic Band, Stepper Motors, Custom Electronics, C++ code

Kungstensgatan 27

Irregular Polyhedron Study #1 is a physical representation of the basic components of computer graphics; the vertex and the edge. The project was developed in collaboration with Norwegian architect Joakim Hoen (Void) as a site-specific installation for the window gallery at Kungstensgatan 27 in Stockholm.

The installation comprised a wireframe polyhedron constructed from black elastic bands suspended by fishing lines and connected to nine stepper motors controlled by five Arduino microcontrollers and an openFrameworks application that simulated the overall motion scheme. The geometry was procedurally generated using Rhino, Grasshopper, and Kangaroo physics simulation to create an optimal compromise between room dimensions, motor placement possibilities, and directional tension vectors toward each vertex. This digital model was then exported for physics simulation and converted into numbered measurements for cutting and connecting the physical string components.

The sculpture's behavior emerged as an erratic combination of multiple noise layers and randomness, punctuated by occasional kickback from stepper motors yielding to overall tension within the geometric structure. Rather than eliminating these mechanical inconsistencies, the system deliberately incorporated these unpredictable elements as integral features that contributed to the work's uncanny nervousness and apparent personality. This conscious embrace of systemic instability demonstrated how the translation between digital precision and physical materiality generates emergent behaviors that exist beyond programmed parameters, creating a dynamic equilibrium between control and chaos within the suspended geometric form.