ROBIN DEIRKAUF, MA STUDIED AT ATELIERS 63 IN HAARLEM AFTER WICH HE CONTINUED HIS STUDIES PUBLICITY AND DESIGN AT ACADEMIE ARTIBUS IN UTRECHT.

IN HIS EARLY CHILDHOOD HE GREW UP IN THE CARIBBEAN, WERE HIS FATHER WAS A ANTIQUES DEALER, MAINLY SPECIALIZED IN AFRICAN AND ASIATIC ART. THE EXOTIC COLORFUL UNDERWATER WORLD AT THAT TIME AND THE ANTIQUES HAS HAD A PROFOUND INFLUENCE ON HIS LATER DRAWINGS AND PAINTINGS.

SIGN, SYMBOL AND SCRIPT ARE RECURRING ELEMENTS IN HIS SOMETIMES ECLECTIC WORK, IT IS CHARACTERIZED BY ANCIENT, PRIMORDIAL PICTORAL POWER, MIXED WITH MODERN CONSTRUCTIVIST ELEMENTS AND BRIGHT COLORS. AFTER THIS PERIOD HE TURNED TO A MORE FORMAL AND CONCEPTIONAL WAY OF ANALIZING THE IMAGE, RESULTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MATRIX USED TO CREATE A PICTOGRAPHIC ALPHABET CONSISTING OF PRIMARY COLORS AND FORMS.

DURING THE LATE 70’S AND EARLY 80’S DEIRKAUF FOUNDED THE EXPERIMENTAL SOUND AND COLOR IMPROVISATION GROUP ROY G. BIV FOR THE REALIZATION OF THE MULTIMEDIA ART PROJECT PHASE III WITH EDWARD VUNDERINK AND FRANS EVERS, WHAT RESULTED IN 10 MUSIC ALBUMS.

IN 1987 THE PAINTINGS BASED ON HIS PICTOGRAPHIC ALPHABET WERE SHOWN AT THE EXHIBITION WORD & IMAGE AT THE MUSEUM HEDENDAAGSE KUNST IN UTRECHT. SINCE THEN HIS RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON THE POSSIBILITIES THIS HAS FOR COMPUTER APPLICATIONS. THE FIRST RESULT WAS PRESENTED IN THE FORM OF AN INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION, ENABLING VISITORS TO TRANSFORM THEIR NAME IN TO COLOR CODE AT THE EXHIBITION OF ELECTRONIC ART, WICH WAS PRESENTED BY THE FOUNDATION FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ART IN DE BEURS VAN BERLAGE IN AMSTERDAM AT THE OCCASION OF REMCO SCHA’S JACQUARD LECTURE IN 1988.

IN 1989 DEIRKAUF WAS INVITED TO JOIN THE FACULTY OF THE NEWLY FOUNDED INTERFACULTY IMAGE & SOUND FOR WICH HE DEVELOPED THE INTRODUCTORY COURSES SENSE INTERFERENCE AND TACTILE HUMAN INTERFACES.

HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE COLLECTIVE PROJECTS, JOHN CAGE PROJECT, DIE GLUCKLICHE HAND - GEOFFNET, MONDRAAN’S PROMENOIRE, SCHEUER IM HAAG, COOKING THE UNIVERSE, SUPERVILLE, SONIC ACTS AND STRUCTET - BUILDING MUSIC, CONSISTED OF MONUMENTAL STAGE SETS DESIGNS THAT EXSTEND TO THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE BUILDING WHERE THE PRODUCTIONS TOOK PLACE.

IN 2001 HE WAS THE FIRST INTERFACULTY TEACHER TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE PROGRAMME MASTER OF MEDIATECHNOLOGY OF LEIDEN UNIVERSITY. TO OFFER THE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS A PLACE WHERE THEY COULD WORK WITH THEIR HANDS. HE FOUNDED TOGETHER WITH JAN PETER VAN DER WENDE THE TACTILE INTERFACE LABORATORY LABLAND IN THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF ART, WHERE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AND ART STUDENTS COULD DO SMALL RESEARCH PROJECTS TO STUDY THE CHARACTERISTICS OF NEW AND OLD MATERIALS FOR THE CREATION OF NEW PHYSICAL SENSORS AND CONTROLLERS OF DIGITAL SYSTEMS.

DURING THE LAST DECADE HIS ARTISTIC RESEARCH FOCUSSES ON APPLICATION OF HIS COLOR CODE MATRIX SCRIPT ALPHABET IN ARCHITECTURAL AND THEATRICAL CONTEXTS.

FROM 1995 - 2000 HE WORKED FOR THE ALMERE BINNEN PRISON WHERE HE DESIGNED THE CORPORATE IMAGE BASED ON COLOR CODE. TOGETHER WITH THE DETAINEES THE INTERIOR OF THE PRISON WAS DECORATED ON THE COLOR CODE MATRIX. THE RESULTS OF THIS LARGE PROJECT WERE DOCUMENTED IN THE INFORMATIVE FILM BEHIND DOORS, WHICH HE CREATED WITH KASPER VAN DER HORST.

HE STUDIED ROBOTICS, 3D STAGE DESIGN MODELING AND SIMULATION OF ACTOR’S MOVEMENTS TO CREATE A PILOT PRESENTATION FOR A MONUMENTAL THEATRE VERSION OF THE EPIC GILGAMESH - HE WHO SAW EVERYTHING. IN 2004 A PROTOTYPE OF A GEOMAN SKYDANCER ROBOT PROJECTION  WAS PRESENTED AT PAUL KOEK’S MIDSUMMERENIGHT WESTERPARK PROJECT IN AMSTERDAM.

IN 2005 DEIRKAUF MADE A SERIES OF16 INSTRUMENTAL ELECTRONIC IMPROVISED SOLO MUSIC ALBUMS TITLED - .K.A.W.A.I. - KINETIC ACTIVE WORLDWIDE ATOMIC IMPULSE. CONSISTING 199 EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATIC TRACKS.

2011 HE STARTED EDITING PHOTO AND VIDEO MATERIAL HE HAS MADE IN THE PAST YEARS.