Skip to main content
Nick Laessing, Water Gas Car, 2013-present. Photo by Stephen King.

Water Gas Car (2013 - present)

At the further reaches of less conventional science lies the work of Nick Laessing, who explores unproven scientific phenomenon, based on his research visits to backyard scientists and engineering experiments in free energy. Water Gas Car considers the possibility for the use of 'Water gas'. First discovered in the 19th Century, it has more recently attracted the attention of experimenters searching for a pollution-free fuel. Many apocryphal stories surround this gas, such as claims that it was used in the first decades of the 20th Century and during the Second World War during fuel shortages. In the 1990's the inventor Stanley Meyer claimed to have run a car on water.

In January 2013, together with Jimmy Whitmore, an engineer from the UK, Nick Laessing attempted to adapt a 1998 VW Golf car to run on water and to drive it from his studio in Amsterdam to Geneva. This car has since been further adapted and driven from South West England by the artist and his collaborator. The documentary footage shows their journey and experiences whilst traveling across the country to FACT, where the work has its first UK presentation.

Developed with the support of engineer Jimmy Whitmore.

Artists