Where the limits of our imagination begin to blur, that’s where Johannes Langkamp’s work takes off. The German artist based in Rotterdam enjoys playing with perception through his installations, aiming to broaden your view of the world. Especially for the temporary clubhouse of the Kite Club at Voorlinden, he collaborated with fellow kite-flying artists to create a Kaku Dako kite titled I Would Prefer Not to Arrive Yet.
Were you already a kite flyer?
‘No, not at all. My older brother used to make kites, but I never did. I was always amazed at how he could sew and cut everything so precisely. Funny enough, I used to find the technical side of things quite daunting, whereas now it’s actually a key theme in my work.’
What was the starting point for your kite?
‘Bertjan Pot from the Kite Club helped me get started. He showed me lots of kites and explained that you can even make holes in them and they’ll still fly. That immediately appealed to me, as I wanted to break through the flat plane of the kite. I started sketching and now I have a whole stack of drawings with slits, notches and holes. I’m currently working on a kite with a pattern of holes containing rotating circles. At first, I thought of using yellow on one side and blue on the other. But when they move, they spin so quickly that they appear green. So now I’m trying to find the right colours so that they flicker in the sky like a disco light.’
Do you often collaborate with other artists?
‘No, that’s quite new for me. But I’d love to do it more, because the shared process of making and playing is something I really enjoy. Like me, Bertjan has an experimental approach with plenty of room for trial and error — the joy of making comes first for both of us. And I really enjoy being able to try out different things.’
Did you learn anything as an artist?
‘Definitely. In the Netherlands and Germany, our perspective on kites is actually quite limited, but internationally it’s a different story. I was struck by how sophisticated the technical side of kite-making is, but also by the artistic possibilities. As an artist, you can really express your own signature. In my work I like to push boundaries — I enjoy experimenting, exploring what’s possible, how something moves. But how do you do that with a kite? And will it still fly? I find it genuinely magical how much knowledge and expertise Bertjan brings. It really helps move the process forward.’
What surprised you the most?
‘Just how many different kinds of kites have already been made, how rich the culture of kite-making actually is. Bertjan has all these books about kites, and I was genuinely impressed by the variety, the figurative elements, the technical aspects – and even sculptural kites that I’d never seen before. I found it really inspiring. Normally I create works that hang on a wall, but now you’re working against the sky – a blue sky instead of a museum wall. That really broadens your creative space.’
Will you make more kites in future?
‘Maybe I’d like to work more with wind. While flying the kite with Bertjan, at one point I really felt the resistance of the wind — it was so fascinating. Not that I’ll suddenly start making kites in my own practice; stepping outside still feels like quite a leap for me — my worktable is already a world of discovery. But yes, standing in the grass with one of Bertjan’s kites – I can really enjoy that. So who knows.’
Want to see more kites? Take a look at the Kite Club’s Instagram page.
Header: Kite Club by Ruud Baan