Strandbeest: The Dream Machines of Theo Jansen at the Peabody Essex Museum

ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES
With a singular focus and sense of play, Jansen has developed his Strandbeests from rudimentary structures into intricate, autonomous creatures that can respond to environmental changes by storing wind power, anchoring against oncoming storms and tacking away from the water’s edge. Originally inspired by the threat of rising sea levels, Jansen imagined a mechanical creature that could pile sand back up on the dunes. As time went on, Jansen became more fascinated with exploring ideas around the origins of life.

A selection of large- scale kinetic sculptures are accompanied by artist sketches, immersive video, and photography by Lena Herzog, who spent more than seven years documenting the Strandbeests' evolution. Herzog's work - which represents the most in-depth and sympathetic record of Jansen's relationship to the beests - has recently been published by TASCHEN.

THEO JANSEN
The artist first came to prominence in 1980 when he flew a "UFO" across the skies of Delft, Holland. For the past 20 years Jansen has been creating and exhibiting his dramatic, kinetic Strandbeests. He has appeared on multiple TED Talks, been the subject of a New Yorker profile and shown his work in Asia, Europe and now the United States.

LENA HERZOG
Lena Herzog is a Russian-American photographer. Her work has been featured and reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, The Paris Review, Harper's Magazine and Cabinet Magazine. She is the author of several books of photography and her work has been internationally exhibited.