‘ Science, craftsmanship and art merge in a fascinating interplay of light and perspective. ’
Lens
lenses, motor, projection — 2025-ongoing
installation
The light in this artwork comes from two projectors, and shines through a number of lenses. These are old fitting-lenses used by opticians. They have been polished in all kinds of ways, concave or convex, so that they either magnify or reduce reality.
The lenses were made to fit humans, as an extension of the eye. With this artwork, I invite you to see things in a different way. I make the light from the projectors refract, bend or reflect in unpredictable ways, opening the door to chance. In this way, I want to pay tribute to the beauty of the lenses, and of light.
Alles vraagt om verwondering. Er komt geen einde aan! — NRC
NRC, Bianca Stigter, 13 March 2025:
Van kunstenaar Jos Agasi is er een installatie waarin licht schijnt door tientallen oude paslenzen van opticiens, die nu eens vergroten en dan weer verkleinen. Het mooiste is dat het onderscheid tussen kunst en wetenschap of tussen kunst en natuur hier prettig vervaagt. Alles vraagt om verwondering. Er komt geen einde aan!
Science, craftsmanship and art merge in a fascinating interplay of light and perspective — Katharina Broennecke
Katharina Broennecke, professor Universität der Künste Berlin, 30 March 2025:
In the artistic work Lens (2025), science, craftsmanship and art merge in a fascinating interplay of light and perspective. As part of the ‘Plants & Planets’ exhibition, artist Jos Agasi invites viewers to look at spaces from a new, surprising perspective.
At the centre of the installation is light, which is emitted by two projectors and guided through a cascade of old adapting lenses. These lenses, once used in the craft of optics to magnify or reduce reality, have been worked with care and artistic flair. Their differently shaped, concave or convex surfaces ensure that the light is refracted, bent or reflected in unpredictable ways. In this dance-like play of light, Agasi opens up new visual dimensions and thus pays homage to the fascinating aesthetic world of optics.
Jos Agasi, who as a visual designer and scenographer bathes spaces in a new light, knows how to unfold the potential of simple materials and transform them into a sophisticated artistic experience. With ‘Lens’, the process of seeing itself becomes the central theme - a poetic dialogue between technology and aesthetics that encourages viewers to question familiar perspectives and celebrate the wonders of the unpredictable. The installation is not only a technical masterpiece, but also an invitation to reflect on the interactions of light, space and time. In this way, ‘Lens’ combines scientific knowledge with artistic vision and allows viewers to take part in a journey that goes far beyond the obvious.
Visitors enter the exhibition in a room completely transformed by the dynamic artwork created especially for the exhibition by Jos Agasi — Leiden Observatory and Hortus Botanicus
Leiden Observatory and Hortus Botanicus, Linda van Putten, 6 February 2025:
The creators of Plants & Planets want to build new bridges between disciplines and genres. ‘That’s why we’ve worked a lot with artists in the exhibition. They ask questions and come up with completely different insights.’ Visitors enter the exhibition in a room completely transformed by the dynamic artwork created especially for the exhibition by Jos Agasi. There are also reproductions of botanic illustrations by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) and present-day botanic illustrators. The colourful Plastomorph by Driessen & Verstappen shows corals that absorb microplastics from seawater.
In 2022, I inherited a collection of lenses from my father, an optics trader, originally passed down to him by my grandfather, an optician. With these lenses, I envisioned a work of art emerging, though it hadn’t yet come to fruition.
In 2024 Leiden University commissioned a work for a new exhibition in the Old Observatory. I started working with various lenses, just like my grandfather’s. That’s how the work Lens came into being.
Lens (2025)
Concept, design, video projection
Design and production assistant: Gaby Jacobs
Commissioned by Leiden University
Curators: Meta Knol and Frans Snik
Long running exhibition: Plants & Planets
‘ Science, craftsmanship and art merge in a fascinating interplay of light and perspective. ’
Lens
lenses, motor, projection — 2025-ongoing
installation
The light in this artwork comes from two projectors, and shines through a number of lenses. These are old fitting-lenses used by opticians. They have been polished in all kinds of ways, concave or convex, so that they either magnify or reduce reality.
The lenses were made to fit humans, as an extension of the eye. With this artwork, I invite you to see things in a different way. I make the light from the projectors refract, bend or reflect in unpredictable ways, opening the door to chance. In this way, I want to pay tribute to the beauty of the lenses, and of light.
Alles vraagt om verwondering. Er komt geen einde aan! — NRC
NRC, Bianca Stigter, 13 March 2025:
Van kunstenaar Jos Agasi is er een installatie waarin licht schijnt door tientallen oude paslenzen van opticiens, die nu eens vergroten en dan weer verkleinen. Het mooiste is dat het onderscheid tussen kunst en wetenschap of tussen kunst en natuur hier prettig vervaagt. Alles vraagt om verwondering. Er komt geen einde aan!
Science, craftsmanship and art merge in a fascinating interplay of light and perspective — Katharina Broennecke
Katharina Broennecke, professor Universität der Künste Berlin, 30 March 2025:
In the artistic work Lens (2025), science, craftsmanship and art merge in a fascinating interplay of light and perspective. As part of the ‘Plants & Planets’ exhibition, artist Jos Agasi invites viewers to look at spaces from a new, surprising perspective.
At the centre of the installation is light, which is emitted by two projectors and guided through a cascade of old adapting lenses. These lenses, once used in the craft of optics to magnify or reduce reality, have been worked with care and artistic flair. Their differently shaped, concave or convex surfaces ensure that the light is refracted, bent or reflected in unpredictable ways. In this dance-like play of light, Agasi opens up new visual dimensions and thus pays homage to the fascinating aesthetic world of optics.
Jos Agasi, who as a visual designer and scenographer bathes spaces in a new light, knows how to unfold the potential of simple materials and transform them into a sophisticated artistic experience. With ‘Lens’, the process of seeing itself becomes the central theme - a poetic dialogue between technology and aesthetics that encourages viewers to question familiar perspectives and celebrate the wonders of the unpredictable. The installation is not only a technical masterpiece, but also an invitation to reflect on the interactions of light, space and time. In this way, ‘Lens’ combines scientific knowledge with artistic vision and allows viewers to take part in a journey that goes far beyond the obvious.
Visitors enter the exhibition in a room completely transformed by the dynamic artwork created especially for the exhibition by Jos Agasi — Leiden Observatory and Hortus Botanicus
Leiden Observatory and Hortus Botanicus, Linda van Putten, 6 February 2025:
The creators of Plants & Planets want to build new bridges between disciplines and genres. ‘That’s why we’ve worked a lot with artists in the exhibition. They ask questions and come up with completely different insights.’ Visitors enter the exhibition in a room completely transformed by the dynamic artwork created especially for the exhibition by Jos Agasi. There are also reproductions of botanic illustrations by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717) and present-day botanic illustrators. The colourful Plastomorph by Driessen & Verstappen shows corals that absorb microplastics from seawater.
In 2022, I inherited a collection of lenses from my father, an optics trader, originally passed down to him by my grandfather, an optician. With these lenses, I envisioned a work of art emerging, though it hadn’t yet come to fruition.
In 2024 Leiden University commissioned a work for a new exhibition in the Old Observatory. I started working with various lenses, just like my grandfather’s. That’s how the work Lens came into being.
Lens (2025)
Concept, design, video projection
Design and production assistant: Gaby Jacobs
Commissioned by Leiden University
Curators: Meta Knol and Frans Snik
Long running exhibition: Plants & Planets
