The work of Xavier van Wersch (Nijmegen NL, 1976) reflects an organical approach to the field of electronic art. In his installations, performances and compositions there is always an element of controlled chaos. He explores the relation between man and machine by conceiving the two of them together as a hybrid system in which erratic behaviour is the principal condition for interaction. Another common theme in his work is recycling. Like a modern Frankenstein, he constructs his machinery from parts of deceased equipment and disfunctional devices.
 
Van Wersch was raised with classical piano and violin training, which set the foundations for his experiments with composition and electronic music as a young teenager. At first spurning the conservative music academy for the freedom of visual arts, Van Wersch was eventually drawn back to study Sonology at Royal Conservatory in The Hague after discovering abstract electronic music. His final exam composition, entitled Odysseia, was included on the compilation His Master's Noise - The Institute Of Sonology, released on the Dutch label BVHaast Records in 2001. The compilation gathered pieces from artists who had worked or studied at the Institute of Sonology, including Iannis Xenakis, Edgard Varse and Gyrgy Ligeti.
 
As well as performing under his own name, van Wersch produces tracks under the moniker xaf. The first xaf releases appeared in 1999 on Dutch Breakbeat label Fluff Girl Wax, several more appeared on the more experimental Esc.Rec label over the next few years. As a sound designer he has worked with a.o. Nederlands Dans Theater, Icelandic National Ballet, Maska Ljubljana, the Poni Collective and Ivana Muller.
 
He is the director and founder of re.Bug, an organisation that supports and develops projects in which art, technology and nature meet. The organisations first big project is Sonic Wargame, a musical game in which 4 teams of musicians battle for audibility while recycling each others sound. The project has been performed at several international festivals and until now over a 100 musicians from different backgrounds and nationalities have participated.
 
Van Wersch has presented work at a.o. TodaysArt Festival (The Hague), Club Transmediale (Berlin), LOW festival (Budapest), Sonic Acts (Amsterdam), State X New Forms (The Hague), Dis-Patch (Belgrade), Lab030 (Augsburg), NEXT festival (Bratislava), KIMAF (Kiev), Festival Pomladi (Ljubljana), Unsound (Krakow), Ultrahang Fest (Budapest), B-link (Belgrade), Garage-g (Stralsund), Les Chants Mcaniques (Lille), Touch (Amsterdam), and in many more festivals and venues throughout the world.
 
http://www.xaflab.tk
http://www.sonic-wargame.net
http://www.fruitpower.co.cc