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.

0554, Oslo

+47 412 32 199

@bgstaal        / Github

@_nonfigurativ_ / Instagram

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Photon

2016

installation

Moving Head Light Fixtures, C++ Code

Uncontaminated, Oslo

Void

Photon is a site-specific light installation conceived as a spatial experiment that challenges conventional gallery presentation by treating the exhibition space as an active participant rather than a neutral container. Instead of maintaining the traditional white-walled, brightly lit environment that remains agnostic to displayed works, the installation creates a dynamic, continuously evolving atmosphere that fundamentally alters how art is experienced.

Drawing inspiration from the fundamental properties of light and its capacity to transform spatial perception, the installation explores how illumination and movement can drastically alter understanding of surrounding space. The work employs carefully choreographed lighting sequences that create shifting atmospheric conditions, demonstrating how subtle changes in brightness, color temperature, and direction can produce significant alterations in emotional response and spatial comprehension. This approach emphasizes light's dual role as both revealing medium and active sculptural material.

Photon was installed as part of the Bjarne Melgaard/Bob Recine exhibition, curated by Rod Bianco Gallery, at the Uncontaminated festival in Oslo in 2016. The installation featured live-generated soundscapes and generative ambience created by Bendik Baksaas and Kristoffer Eikrem, adding temporal audio layers that responded to the shifting visual environment. This collaboration between light, space, and sound created an immersive experience that demonstrated how technological intervention can transform static gallery spaces into dynamic environments for contemporary art presentation.