Hostage pt.1
Nanoblack is the new orange for Belgian sculptor – Wired
From blackest black to Universe hacking – We Make Money Not Art
Meet The Artist Behind “Blacker-Than-Black”, The Darkest Color Ever – The Creatorsproject
Meet The Man Who Wants To ‘Grow’ The Blackest Color In The World – Huffington Post
Back to Black: The enduring quest to portray nothing – New Scientist
Blackest black is the new black – 3dprinterworld
Hostage pt.1 (2010)
Recognized as the world’s first nano-engineered blacker-than-black artwork, Hostage pt.1 (2010) represents a groundbreaking convergence of art, science, and material exploration. Measuring a mere 7 cm × 7 cm, this pioneering work is composed of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs), engineered at the nanoscale to absorb nearly all incident light across the electromagnetic spectrum. With an absorption rate approaching 99.9%, the artwork renders the surface an optical void, creating a phenomenological experience in which the viewer confronts the perceptual limits of vision.
This unprecedented material innovation results in a work that embodies pure horizontal depth—an absolute blackness that transcends conventional pigment-based approaches. De Wilde’s practice references a lineage of artists who have interrogated the ontological and perceptual dimensions of monochrome, from Kazimir Malevich’s Black Square (1915) to Yves Klein’s International Klein Blue and Ad Reinhardt’s Ultimate Paintings. However, in contrast to these predecessors, De Wilde does not apply pigment; instead, he cultivates atomic-scale structures through a bottom-up fabrication process. By sputtering catalyst nanoparticles onto a substrate and subsequently growing nanotubes via chemical vapor deposition (CVD), he creates a ‘forest’ of CNTs held together by Van der Waals forces. The resulting structure absorbs not only visible light but also infrared wavelengths, positioning De Wilde’s work at the cutting edge of both artistic and scientific discourse.
This synthesis of nanotechnology and conceptual art has earned Hostage pt.1 international recognition, including the prestigious Ars Electronica [Next Idea] Award and the Best European Collaboration Award between an artist and a scientist. The work has been widely discussed in both the art and scientific communities, with critics drawing parallels between De Wilde’s radical blackness and deeper cosmological inquiries into dark matter, interstellar absorption spectra, and the unknown dimensions of the universe.
De Wilde articulates his artistic philosophy through the concept of blacker-than-black as both a material and a conceptual provocation. “The blackest black is not just a coating with a striking effect—it is a poetic thought, an artistic investigation, and a research project that challenges perception and reality.” Like Malevich’s Suprematist black, De Wilde’s nano-black is a vehicle for radical imagination and social critique, an artistic gesture that engages with the existential and epistemological questions of our time. His work asserts that in a hypermediated world saturated with visual stimuli, absolute darkness offers a space for introspection, refusal, and reinvention.
In this sense, De Wilde’s exploration of nano-black echoes Klein’s engagement with the infinite through blue, yet pivots towards a more profound interrogation of the void. While Klein sought the immateriality of the sky, De Wilde gazes into deep space—towards the abyss of the unknown, where darkness becomes a metaphor for both limitless possibility and the unresolved mysteries of the cosmos.
Finalist of the TED World Wide Talent Search
Winner of the prestigious Ars Electronica [Next Idea] Award
Winner of the Best European Collaboration Award between an artist and a scientist
De Wilde says: “There is a kind of beauty in trying to realise the blacker-than-black concept. Not just claiming it, but also trying to produce it by trial and error. There is beauty in doubt, to doubt and question perception and reality, simply by asking the poetic question: ‘Is there something blacker than black?”
De Wilde says: “The blackest-black is a poetic thought, an artistic concept and research project, a concrete series of artworks that are “born” out of necessity, reactionism, subversiveness. The blackest-black concept and artwork help us to question our perception and reality. Additionally, the blackest-black holds potentially a “key” to our survival as a species. So, the blackest-black is not just a nice coating with a nice effect, it’s the ultimate celebration of the unknown. It’s pure horizontal depth and a space of boundless immateriality.”
The blackest black is for De Wilde – just like for Kasimir Malevich – a symbol for societal change in a world facing huge economical, ecological and societal challenges. For De Wilde change starts with the individual. Darkness is perfect, because more than light, it turns directly and singularly towards the individual. De Wilde sees his blacker-then-black nano engineered art as a space of refusal, but also as a space of and for imagination. In a time where we’re oversaturated with media and information, it pulls you back to something that is private and personal. In absolute darkness everybody is the same, things are forged and unified. For Yves Klein it was the blue sky for De Wilde it’s deep space.
“This is a very striking collaborative between the hard edge world of science and the world of conceptual art.”
Sandra Gunn, Curriculum Director of the City of Glasgow College, Great Britain
“Meet The Man Who Wants To ‘Grow’ The Blackest Color In The World”
The Huffington Post | By Katerine Brooks
“From blackest black to Universe hacking. An interview with Frederik De Wilde.”
we-make-money-not-art | By Regine Debatty
“I was thrilled to view your Nano Black Square in London, and your effort to get as close to “nothing” as possible.”
Nothing Matters | By Ronald Green
Image credits
Hostage pt.1 © Frederik De Wilde
