Workspace Unlimited (WU) is a digital arts collective co-founded by visual artist Thomas Soetens and architect Kora Van Den Bulcke. Workspace Unlimited is frequently commissioned by established cultural institutions to create large-scale digital environments for specific exhibits or buildings. WU’s projects feature hybrid spaces, merging the thin line between physical environments and perceptual realities. "What we experience in virtual spaces alters how we perceive reality." Conceptually rooted in the convergence of art and architecture, WU reconciles these two "realities" through the creation of environments where virtual space overlaps with "real" physical space, through the use of immersive environments, real-time gaming technology, projections, body tracking and mirroring techniques. Their research explores themes such as media culture, traditional notions of space, perception, representation, and the boundaries between the real and plausible.
Kora Van den Bulcke (1972) graduated from the University of Montreal's program in Architecture and is a recipient of the Gold Medal of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada (1996). From 1996 to 2000 she practiced as an architect in established firms in the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. Her personal theoretical architecture projects have been recognized for their innovative approach in architecture and technology and exhibited in museums and architectural institutions such as The Architecture Foundation (London) and the Lighthouse (Glasgow). In 2001 Kora Van den Bulcke co-founded Workspace Unlimited with visual artist Thomas Soetens.
Thomas Soetens (1972) graduated in 1992 with an MFA in Visual Arts from the St-Lucas School of Arts in Belgium. After successfully practicing as a painter from 1992 to 2000, he co-founded Workspace Unlimited in 2001 as its leading artist. Soetens is the creator of a unique conceptual framework reflecting the impact of contemporary technologies through new forms of interactive artwork created with game engines. His work addresses the intrusive character of technology, as well as the human (un)consciousness of hybrid realities that emerge between artificial environments and their inhabitants, both virtual and real.
Workspace Unlimited has realized their projects with the support of the Flemish Authorities, the Flemish Minister of Culture, the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF), the IWT and the IBBT. Commissions have been realized with the additional support by MMI, Rockefeller foundation, EMPAC, Andy Warhol foundation, V2_Institute for the Unstable Media, MACM, Society for Arts & Technology, ZKM, Laboral, Art Center Nabi, STUK, Vooruit Performance Art Center, Barco and Stewart Filmscreen.
