Honorary Mention
Warum sich auf große Konzerne und ihre Versprechen verlassen, die Welt zu retten, wenn man es selbst tun kann? Der Niederländer Gijs Schalkx hat sich überlegt, wie der Verbrennungsmotor von Fahrzeugen auch in einer Zukunft ohne fossile Brennstoffe weiterexistieren kann. Sein Ergebnis ist der „Slootmotor“, der von lokal verfügbaren Energiequellen angetrieben wird, die mit wenigen Hilfsmitteln und DIY-Lösungen aus Teichen oder Straßengräben gewonnen werden: Es handelt sich dabei um das umweltschädliche Methangas, das gesammelt und als Energiequelle genutzt wird bevor es in die Atmosphäre gelangt. „Es mag acht Stunden dauern, den Tank zu füllen, um 20 Kilometer zu fahren – aber diese 20 Kilometer sind immer wieder die besten meines Lebens“, so Gijs Schalkx. Auf https://uitsloot.nl/ stellt er Infos, Zeichnungen, Skizzen und Videos zur Verfügung und will damit alle von uns dazu ermutigen, selbst aktiv zu werden.
Credits
Gijs Schalkx (NL)
https://gijsschalkx.nl
Biography
Gijs Schalkx (NL) is a designer, artist and indie engineer. The power of DIY is central to his work. By combining speculative strategies with hands-on experimentation, Gijs believes we can become agents of our own desires once more. And that (sometimes ridiculous) actions can become a catalyzing force for people to imagine how the world could be different (in a way they could never have imagined before) and to act upon things as a result.
Jury Statement
Combining speculation, an a priori ridiculous idea, and low-tech DIY practical experimentation, UITSLOOT manages to balance concepts such as desire, effort, reward, and environmental impact, and at the same time invites us to imagine a different future and present. Gijs Schalkx, an artist, designer, and indie engineer (by his own definition), proposes with UITSLOOT an ingenious, cheap, and simple alternative for obtaining energy to power his means of transport, a 50 cc Honda Cub motorbike. His motorbike runs on methane energy generated from the sediment at the bottom of the many waterways in his town. To fill the container with methane gas, the artist has developed a gas collecting station that he activates himself—in a truly performative action—by wading into the water with waders and a long pole with which he releases the methane bubbles from the bottom of the ponds. His exemplary DIY action demonstrates that the naturally generated methane that would reach the atmosphere has a greater effect on the climate than the CO2 produced by the UITSLOOT engine. Gijs’ proposal is not only ingenious but also very successful.