NLN & IAFD x NWO - Closed Cycles

Human dietary choices have evolved over millennia, shaped by both survival and culture. While livestock farming was once essential, it now poses significant environmental challenges. In the Netherlands, the excess of cow manure contributes to pollution. One innovative solution is to use farming flies to process manure. These insects convert waste into a sustainable protein source, creating a closed-loop system in agriculture.

This project challenges pre-conceptions and the stigma surrounding insect consumption – especially those raised on manure – and invites you to explore this through a dinner experience:
Step 1: Take a menu and explore the information.
Step 2: Choose between beef (left) or insect (right).
Step 3: Digest your choice.

Why do people consume worm-shaped candies so enthusiastically but often feel disgusted at the idea of eating real ones? This multichannel video installation challenges the audience to think about food as cultural consumption: using gummy worms as an ironic metaphor to talk about the perception of insects as food in Western culture. Gummy worms are a staple in the aisles of Western supermarkets, and ironically mimic the shape and texture of the invertebrate animal. They are among the most recognisable, widely consumed novelty-shaped candies in the Netherlands and beyond – underlining Western consumer culture’s aestheticisation of insects, and not the visceral discomfort many have in considering worms as a food source.

At the heart of the installation is an interview with renowned entomologist Marcel Dicke, Professor at Wageningen University & Research, whose research highlights the sustainability and nutritional benefits of entomophagy – the practice of consuming insects. Through the video interview and stop-motion animation, the installation examines how cultural norms shape dietary choices.

Flyber is a digital farming simulator that offers a glimpse into the future of sustainable food production. Inspired by the research of Leo Beukeboom, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at the University of Groningen, Flyber explores the potential of houseflies as an eco-friendly protein source for animal feed – and potentially for human con sumption – while also examining the role of compu tational systems in modern farming. Beukeboom’s work focuses on breed-ing houseflies using manure, offering a potential solution to Europe’s surplus of manure and the rising demand for alternative protein sources.

Houseflies are emerging as a promising solution to a range of agricultural challenges due to their rapid life cycle, adaptability to various waste streams and potential for large-scale production. Despite these advantages, significant challenges remain. European legislation currently prohibits the consumption of house-flies and restricts the use of livestock manure in such processes. Additionally, there is a strong cultural taboo in Europe surrounding the use of insects for human consumption. Flyber aims to familiarise users with this revolutionary food source by immersing them in the housefly life cycle. Through gamification and design, the project encourages players to rethink traditional approaches to food and farming, inviting them to meet their potential future food.

This project is inspired by the rapidly changing urban environment resulting from redevelopment. As buildings that once held the memories and stories of the past are demolished and new structures take their place, the emotional connection between spaces and people gradually fades. In this context, self-healing concrete offers more than just a structural innovation as it carries a deeper meaning. This material, which can heal itself, goes beyond physically repairing damage: it presents a symbolic possi - bility for spaces to preserve the memories and stories of those who inhabit them. Through this lens, the potential of self-healing concrete is explored as a new material that embraces the traces and emotions of life, offering a chance to reexamine the relation ship between spaces and people.

Corrosion is the word used to define the gradual degradation of materials, particularly metals, due to chemical reactions with their environment. In architecture, corrosion presents significant challenges, impacting the durability, aesthetics and safety of buildings. Structurally, corrosion weakens load-bearing elements, reducing their capacity to withstand stress and potentially leading to structural failure. Aesthetically, rust and discoloration affect the visual integrity of structures. Additionally, corrosion increases maintenance costs, as affected materials require repair or replacement.

This project explores the visual representation of corrosion through a concrete scale model. The building is a replica of a Soviet-era house, commonly found in Eastern European countries. Over time, such structures have become symbolic of decay and are often portrayed as examples of ‘bad’ architecture.

This project developed from a fascination with polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and the question of whether the process of creating PHAs could be replicated on a small scale. By cultivating a microbial culture and inducing PHA production through oxygen, phosphorus, or nitrogen deprivation, the process ultimately failed to meet the required conditions. However, an unexpected result emerged: extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). This biofilm, secreted by the bacteria, acts as a protective shield against environmental threats.

When DIY PHA production proved impractical, the focus shifted to calcite, a mineral that microbes secrete to heal tiny cracks in self-healing concrete, inspiring this project to explore its potential for solidifying minerals into bio-concrete. The booklet explores these processes and transforms the symbolic portrayal of microbes into an imaginative realm. Combining scientific and artistic visuals, it makes the hidden microbial world more accessible and engaging.

This video installation follows the research of Robbert Kleerebezem, Associate Professor Biotechnology at Delft University of Technology and uses wastewater polymers as the active agent in self-healing concrete. By introducing biotic bacteria into abiotic concrete, cracks that eventually form in the concrete become full of life.

Concrete, the most widely used human-made material, is often considered about as far off from nature as one can imagine. It is among the most detrimental materials to the environment due to the excessive emissions of the cement industry and the damage to soil, water and air. How would the use of concrete change if one reimagines humanity’s relationship to it as outside one’s own lifetime? If concrete were seen as part nature, would humans take better care of it? Should one step away from the material completely? Interviews and an exploration of the natural materials that make up concrete invite visitors to reflect on their relation to concrete and the natural world. Please pick up a pair of headphones and consider whether concrete is really as dead as it seems.

When recognised and respected, fragility can become a source of strength. Delicacy is not a weakness but a valuable quality that challenges us to approach sustainability with care and responsibility. This project explores bio-based resource Kaumera as a material, examining both its strengths and limitations. While durable with respect to fire and water resistance, it also presents challenges: its short shelf-life, distinct odour and fragility in pure form.

To showcase Kaumera’s sustainable yet vulnerable nature and reflect on the complexities of sustainable practices, its key material properties are translated into a triptych of artistic representations. By incorporating bio-ingredients like oils and starches, the material’s unique qualities are highlighted, such as its capacity for fire resistance, water repellence and absorbency and binding. A painting made with Kaumera emphasises that sustain able materials, though delicate and costly, hold the potential to create meaningful outcomes. Through the act of making art with a fragile material, this project reveals that true value lies in care, intention and thoughtful engagement.

The endurance of material in comparison to the human body is rarely considered. Before some plastic fragments even begin to decompose, humanity will be long gone. This research is rooted in the question: how long will these objects outlive me?

We Will Outlive You is a material research project that examines the lifespan of single-use plastic objects that once served a purpose but are now defined as waste. By collecting discarded plastic items and examining their composition, the project traces the moment when they move from ‘useful’ to ‘forgotten’.

The project maps the hidden timelines embedded in waste. It explores the production and consumption of single-use plastics in the Netherlands, as well as the challenges associated with recycling and the transition to sustainable substitutes. Plastic is more than a passive object. It is an active force – one that is shaped by human demands, but also capable of reshaping its surroundings in return.

When did we lose the connection between food and nature? Despite the knowledge and scientific advancements aimed at treating nature more sustainably, long-term consideration often seems just out of reach. And yet humans are capable of care. Across generations, we have shown resilience and the ability to nurture our families. We care, but we still fail when it comes to nature.

Delight invites us to reframe our relationship with nature, highlighting the often overlooked disconnection between the consumer, the farmer and the origins of what sustains us. What if we viewed crops not merely as food, but as a relationship between nature and ourselves? How would we feel if we nurtured nature as we nurture our families – without synthetic overload, grounded in genuine, honest love? Delight transforms an iron reproduction of a poem into bread: a lullaby, or a love letter, from humanity to nature. The bread is not meant for us, nor for the farmer, but as a gesture to nature itself.

Jacque Boers’s farm illustrates how agriculture functions as a cycle. His love for his cows, blue machinery, crops and manure emphasises the interconnectedness of farming elements. In his barn, Jacque feeds his cows and spreads straw around the floor of their stalls. Over time, the cows’ hooves mix that straw with the manure they produce, creating a nutrient-rich material. This organic fertiliser is then spread across the fields, nourishing crops like corn, which in turn feed the cows.

This natural cycle demonstrates the benefits of organic fertilisers: enriching soil health, promoting biodiversity and recycling farm waste. However, government regulations often impose restrictions that complicate these practices. By exploring Jacque’s farm as an example, this project examines both the advantages and limitations of different farming approaches, inviting us to reflect on agricultural sustainability. The images of cows, machinery, crops, and manure capture the beauty and complexity of farming, highlighting the choices farmers make to balance produc-tivity and environmental care.

Speaking Soil explores conversations around soil and fertiliser in the Netherlands by starting with the following question: ‘What drives farmers’ decisions regarding the use of organic fertiliser?’ Through interviews with an organic farmer, a researcher, a Green Party representative, and finally, the soil itself, the researchers investigated different perspectives on the challenges farmers face today. For example, how does policy aid or hinder farmers looking to transition to more eco-friendly farming practices? What cultural narratives surround farming in the Netherlands? And what can research contribute to this conversation?

Selected quotes from the interviews served as the inspiration for a poster series, conveying the layered and chaotic nature of this highly political topic. Next to each other, they also convey one central message: the current treatment of both farmers and the soil must change. Along with the visual elements of this project, viewers are invited to listen to snippets of the audio from interview, bringing a (more than) human element back into the conversation.

The negative consequences of the current food system – inequality, pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, water quality loss – are evident. While people are often told to take individual actions such as eating less meat, buying organic, reducing waste, and recycling, how much can these personal efforts truly change a system that is inherently flawed?During an interview with Frederike Praasterink, Professor of Applied Sciences on Future Food Systems at the HAS Green Academy in ’s-Hertogenbosch reinforced the idea that one shouldn’t underestimate one’s own circle of influence. With this in mind, Anna Brescianini and Fabianna Flores conducted a series of interviews in seeking out how projects across the Netherlands are reimagining the future of food while simultaneously inspiring those around them.

The first interviewee presented is Menno Swaak, the coordinator of the Permaculture Center, The Hague. When Menno started volunteering in a permaculture project, he realised the healing power of working with nature and its role in building resilience. Now he hopes to teach this to his students. Following Menno, are Zackery Denfeld and Cathrine Kramer, artists from the Genomic Gastronomy Garden in Amstelpark, Amsterdam who use the garden as a site for working with others to test, interpret and contest existing agro-cultural practices.

These are just two stories among many that invite people to see food systems not just as they are but as they could be. Perhaps that is where personal efforts lie: being inspired by others and in turn, inspiring change.

Bezuinigingen is an interactive piece that takes the form of a video game. Below the screen are three Plexiglas containers, each with a plastic box inside that represents a type of government investment in society. Before starting the game, the player must reach into a container, pick up the box inside and dispose of it in the adjacent trashcan.

The game itself takes place inside of a digital gallery in which exhibitions slowly start disappearing, mirroring the Dutch government’s slow cuts to research. The exhibitions that the player encounters inside the virtual space relate to the Dutch history of water management and modern water research, such as Ruud Bartholomeus’s study of water reuse. In a video projected on a wall inside the game, Bartholomeus talks about the ways in which scholarship is conducted at water research institute KWR in Nieuwegein, and how he conducted his study on water reuse by enlisting the help of farmers.

The goal of this work is to make visible the slow decay caused by funding cuts. Although it might seem to be just ‘one cube’ that is removed from the system, the consequences are staggering, as the reasons for needed research are forgotten.