Frequently Asked Questions
Welcome to Rhizomebook. If you have any questions, we are here to help. If your question is not listed or you need additional information, please contact info[at]rhizomebook.com.
About Rhizomebook
What is Rhizomebook.com?
Rhizomebook, established by artist Jan van der Til, is a continuously evolving digital book and artistic environment. It brings together books, texts, images, collections, archives, correspondence, research and projects in a network of connections. Rhizomebook does not consist of separate works that are later connected. The connections are part of what makes the works what they are.
Why the term ‘rhizome’?
The term comes from the philosophical work of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari. A rhizome has no single centre, beginning or prescribed direction. It develops through connections, interruptions and new points of departure. Rhizomebook uses this principle not simply as a metaphor, but as a way of organising the practice.
Is Rhizomebook a personal project or a collaborative platform?
Both. It originates in the practice of Jan van der Til but is not limited to him. Collections, institutions, collaborators, technologies, environments and other forms of knowledge can become part of the system.
About Jan van der Til
Who is Jan van der Til?
Jan van der Til is a Dutch artist with a multidisciplinary, research-driven practice. His work moves between art, society, ecology, technology, economics and institutional systems. Rather than working within one medium, he develops situations in which different forms of knowledge, objects and infrastructures can interact.
Does Rhizomebook conduct research?
Yes. Artistic, ecological and technological research are central to the practice. Research can become a text, collection, website, archive, intervention or new Book. A result does not necessarily close the research; it can become the starting point for another part of the system.
What is the digital actor?
The digital actor Jan van der Til is a new layer within Rhizomebook. It emerges from the existing corpus of books, texts, correspondence, websites, collections and projects. It is not a digital copy of the artist. It is an experimental interface through which the existing practice can be read, connected and further developed. The actor can therefore become both a result of the existing system and a new force within it.
Concepts of work
What does Jan van der Til consider a ‘Book’?
A Book is a manifestation of the practice. It can be a publication, website, collection, archive, intervention, garden, research project or institutional document. A Book does not need to have a fixed form. Its meaning develops through the relations it enters into.
Why do the Books have numbers?
Books are numbered with Roman numerals. The numbers do not establish a hierarchy or chronology. They identify positions within a larger constellation. A new Book can emerge from an existing one, overlap with another, or remain connected to several Books at once.
Why do many Books lack a date?
Because the Book itself is not necessarily a dated object. Individual manifestations can be dated, while the larger structure remains open. A Book may therefore exist across different periods and appear in different forms.
Why are exhibitions or reviews also included among the Books?
Because a presentation, review, correspondence or institutional response can change the context in which a work exists. These are not necessarily secondary documents. They can become new manifestations of the work and can lead to new connections.
Why is the original not for sale?
The original is often a conceptual or digital structure rather than a single object. Selling one manifestation does not necessarily transfer the Book itself. Openness, non-possession and continued development are important principles within the practice.
Can I purchase a Book by Jan van der Til?
Yes and no. Some Books exist as physical publications or objects and may be available through print-on-demand or other forms. Others exist as digital, conceptual or networked structures. Contact us for information about a specific Book.
Why does the work not rely on copyright?
Copyright is not treated as an absolute boundary. When ownership prevents circulation, criticism or the development of new connections, it can become counterproductive to the work. The practice therefore questions rather than simply accepts conventional models of authorship and ownership.
What role does context play in the work?
Context is constitutive. A work does not simply enter a context; the context becomes part of the work. An institutional response, ecological situation, collection, website or administrative process can therefore alter what a work becomes.
Why do some works only exist as websites or digital files?
Because the form follows the function. Some Books require forms that can change, connect and expand. Digital environments allow multiple versions, connections and points of entry without requiring a single definitive form.
What is meant by ‘hybrid’ practice?
A Book can simultaneously function as an artwork, collection, archive, garden design, research document or digital environment. The categories do not have to remain separate. Their overlap is often where the work begins.
Collections and loans
Why does Rhizomebook manage collections?
Collections are ways of investigating how objects acquire meaning and value. A collection can become an archive, an artistic work, research material or the starting point for another Book. The individual objects remain connected to the larger network.
Are the Braun devices available for purchase?
Book XXIII is a collection of Braun devices (1950–1995). The collection is not for sale but may be loaned under specific conditions. Contact us for more information.
Are the Apple devices available for purchase?
Book XXVIII contains Apple devices (1999–2015). The collection is not for sale but can be loaned. Contact us for terms and availability.
Are the Sony devices available for purchase?
Book XXXIV includes Sony devices (1969–1996). The collection is not for sale but may be loaned under certain conditions.
Are Books loaned out by Rhizomebook?
Yes. Works can be loaned to public institutions, exhibitions or research platforms. Early dialogue is encouraged so that the conditions of the loan can become part of the project.
Do you sell Braun parts?
No. The Braun devices are part of a collection and are not disassembled or sold as individual parts.
Ecological and consulting work
Can I seek gardening advice from Rhizomebook?
Yes. Rhizomebook develops ecological design and gardening approaches based on wild plants, self-regulation and minimal intervention. The aim is not to control an environment completely, but to understand and work with the relationships already present.
How does ecological thinking shape the work?
Ecology is not simply a subject within the practice. It provides a way of thinking about organisation, growth, dependency and change. A garden, collection, institution or digital environment can all be understood as systems in which different elements affect one another.
What is Heermoes en Zevenblad?
Foundation Heermoes en Zevenblad was initiated by Jan van der Til and Paul Kusters. It explores ecological principles in relation to urban space, biodiversity, climate adaptation and everyday life.
Can Rhizomebook be hired for consulting services?
Rhizomebook can be involved in projects where artistic, ecological and systemic thinking intersect. Contact us to discuss possibilities.
Funding and infrastructure
Can I invest or donate money to Rhizomebook?
Alternative funding models are being explored, including blockchain-based systems. Donations can be discussed case by case.
How does blockchain relate to Rhizomebook?
Blockchain is interesting to Rhizomebook as a possible infrastructure for decentralised ownership, distribution and financial autonomy. It is not used simply as a financial product. Its relevance lies in the possibility of creating another kind of relationship between resources, ownership and the continuation of the practice.
How does Rhizomebook approach money?
Rhizomebook does not primarily treat money as capital to be accumulated. Income is continually put back into the conditions of the practice: production, research, materials, infrastructure, maintenance and new projects.
The practice works from an active zero balance. This is not an accounting principle but an attitude towards capital. Money enters the system, changes form and becomes available for something else.
A subsidy, sale, commission or income from outside the artistic practice can therefore become material, time, space, infrastructure or a new project. The point is not growth for its own sake, but autonomy and room for movement.
Access and updates
Is the Book list complete?
No. Rhizomebook is a living system. New Books are added and existing Books change. The list is therefore not intended to be exhaustive. It is another point of entry into the network.
How can I stay informed about updates?
Subscribe to our irregular newsletter. We keep communication minimal and meaningful.