Why I Cheated the Internet: A Chat with the Geek Fabulist Behind "Human Bird Wings"

Maybe you're among the six, seven, eight or I-don't-know-how-many million people who have seen the video of that Dutch man-bird who fluttered about in a park with a camera attached to his helmet. Since the video launched some two weeks ago, the typical river of comments that tends to follow a well-made viral video transformed into a torrent of mouth-open incredulousness and angry disbelief. Is Nintendo behind the Human Birdwings Project? Is this a CIA disinformation campaign? And so on and so forth throughout the week, until the Human Birdman came crashing down to earth. Wired even put up a thorough technical analysis of the video.

We spoke with Floris Kaayk, the author of the video, a couple weeks before all this shit went down. And towards the end of our interview, this jokster and incredible video and computer animation artist with an interest in testing the limits of scientific evidence hinted at a project that claimed to make reality the old Da Vinci dream "with an old kite surfing sail, windsurf masts, Wii controllers, and smartphones."

In a stroke of luck one day in February of 2009, I discovered Metalosis Maligna, a short as visionary as it is disturbing made by Floris Kaayk (Tiel, Holland, 1982), an expert in animation and computer generated images.

I then had the opportunity to meet Floris in October of 2011 when he came to Spain for Spectra/4, a NeoConsp(irative) meeting celebrated in Valencia. Besides having the chance to videotape his work and having him delight us with titles like The Reality as f/x, a fascinating presentation on his modus operandi, Floris’ visit to Valencia served to put in motion two unique events: Spectra and the Next Nature Power-Show, the latter of which Floris is an active collaborator. Next Nature is an artistic collective that explores how nature is transformed by humans and the idea of the artificial. The concept has been developed in five "power-shows" in which scientists, designers, and artists are invited to present their radically visionary ideas about how we can live in "Next Nature." Finding both Next Nature and Floris to be extremely fascinating, we had to interrogate this post-industrial agent.

VICE: I'm fascinated by the words, the names, the titles… Your last name, Kaayk, is it Dutch? Does it mean anything?

Floris Kaayk: On my passport it says Kaaijk, but my father changed it to Kaayk for some reason. Maybe because of his dyslexic deviation. As far as I know we are the only family in the Netherlands with that name. It doesn't mean anything, but it's more unique than Jansen or De Vries (two very common last names in Holland).

Your first piece, The Order Electrus (2004) is a post-industrial version of a documentary from National Geographic, with some hot sexual intercourse between male and female wire condensers. It’s futuristic porno!

The idea of The Order Electrus popped into my mind after flipping through a book about insects that live in the Netherlands in which every name of a species started with 'The Order'. So I decided to use that, and I made up my own order of electronic insect species. I added Electrus to it, and then suddenly a new post-industrial insect species was born, The Order Electrus!

Soon after TOE was completed, I found out of that DARPA, the futuristic research arm of the American military, was working on a species of hybrid beetles into which they were implanting electronic pieces. My fantasies of electronic insects are becoming reality! Art and science are becoming more connected every day.

In 2006 you made your short Metalosis Maligna. In an interview you said: "People associate documentaries to scientific proof. Most of the events in Metalosis Maligna are far from reality, but strangely enough there are people who sincerely believe it. For me, that manipulative power is very attractive". I agree: The Reality as f/x… and maybe in few years Metalosis Maligna will be classified as a real documentary, not mockumentaries. The term "metalosis maligna" is already being used as medical slang!

Yes, a few months ago I was asked to speak about brain manipulation at a scientific conference at the University of Groningen. The organization was looking for visual artists who were inspired by science. And they knew my work, especially Metalosis Maligna. One of the professors organizing the event called me in advance and told me something very curious. It seemed that a group of researchers at that particular university was already using the term Metalosis Maligna to label a new kind of pseudo-tumor. This illness affects people with a metal knee or hip. Microscopic metallic particles crumble off of the metal due to the friction of the two components and cause a tumor. The people researching this malady are calling the infection Metalosis Maligna, after my fictional documentary. So it seems that fiction is becoming reality. I believe in a new generation of illnesses, which are caused by people trying to expand and improve their bodies. After all, nature is harder to influence than we think. Or at least, it will take more time than we expect.

As an expert in computer animation, what's your opinion about videogames?

Floris Kaayk: To be honest, I never play computer games. The last time I really was addicted to a computer game was in 1995: "Command and Conquer." Since then things have changed a lot. Sometimes I look up trailers for contemporary games, and I'm always surprised at how the graphics are evolving. I imagine that within 10 years they'll be able to make 100% realistic digital human characters. Especially with the development of 3D-stereoscopic techniques, I think one day we'll walk in a digital copy of our own world without noticing the difference. An idea as interesting as it is terrible, because the digital world will have different potentials than our real world. Which will we choose?

During the screening of The Origin of Creatures in Spectra I fantasized about an interactive story, something like a mutant videogame, or a bio-game… I've also been playing with that concept, especially because the characters in the short have the potential to form game elements. They exist as disassembled parts of the human body. And they can only function if they use others capabilities. So they can create a lot of strange combinations: fingers attached to legs, arms holding an ear, legs stapled together. I think these could form interesting elements for a complex game. Maybe in the future!

Tell me about the psychedelic performance piece Juxtaposis.

Last year I decided to experiment more and step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to try different techniques and different ways of narrating. Juxtaposis is one of the results of this experimental phase. It's an abstract and visual film, very different from my other work, I think. But it was very fun to make.

The concepts present in your work – symbiosis, mutation, hybrids, bionics – seem tied to the concepts of Next Nature. What is Next Nature about, for you?

For me Next Nature is a growing movement of scientists, designers, philosophers and artists who believe in the future and acknowledge the human influence on our planet (and maybe our universe). Next Nature believes in the merging of nature and technology, and it wants us to be aware of the fact that we are part of nature, instead of thinking that we are up against the natural species. Or as Koert van Mensvoort, Next Nature's founder, said: "With our urge to design our environment, we bring about a next nature, which is unpredictable as ever: wild software, genetic surprises, autonomous machinery and splendidly beautiful black flowers. Nature changes along with us."

Do you want to recommend something that you've found interesting lately on The Net?

I'm currently following Human Birdwings, an interesting project based on the mythical dream so many people have: to fly like a bird. Da Vinci discovered early on that it wasn't possible to fly with wings attached to our arms, because our muscles aren't strong enough to flap them. Jarno Smeets, the founder of Human Birdwings, is developing a system with the use of household mechanics and modern electronics, which could make this dream become a reality. With an old surfing kite, windsurf masts, wii controllers and smartphones, Jarno has actually built himself a pair of power-assisted mechanical wings. He has already done a first test flight in which he almost succeeded in lifting off. It's fascinating. I think it’s phenomenal to see how people can get closer to realizing their dreams by sharing knowledge online and applying modern technology.

This interview originally appeared at Vice Spain.