If someone told you that your government had granted an artist free run of a secluded beach in order to develop herds of wind powered creatures, one day destined to live there unsupervised, you might think your leg was being pulled. However, in Holland, just such licence has been given to Theo Jansen.

Strangebeesten is the project the Dutch born artist has been developing for 14 years, interfacing nature and technology in a process he refers to as 'evolution'. Jansen first studied science at the University of Delft Holland before moving into art, and this early influence is evident in the creatures he has assembled. Using plastic yellow electricity tubing, he creates skeletal forms for creatures that resemble, on the one hand, undiscovered prehistoric crustaceans, and on the other, the futuristic alien forms explored by sci- fi luminaries like HR Giger.

The results range in size from tiny beasts to giant monstrosities. Take for example, Animaris Rigide Properans, a 40-foot-long wind powered creature, that moves sideways like a crab, its multiple legs scuttling across the sand with eerie purpose. Animis Spissa Carta on the other hand began life at the scale of a small remote control car, and grew through various incarnations to enormous proportions. This spider-like creation, pulled by cables, was brought by Jansen to a local city estate in Holland in the early 90s, to the amazement and enthusiasm of its residents. Against the stark urban backdrop, Spissa comes across like something from War of the Worlds, towering and menacing yet strangely at home next to these high rise flats.

While Jansen's proposition to develop these creatures into independent beings seems slightly absurd, the power of their physical presence can't be doubted. In the digital library of London's ICA, Jansen documents his development of the nerve-like connections in the electricity tubing, which have been incorporated into the skeletal design of the creatures, enabling them to move in a smooth and animalistic way. The majority of the beasts are powered by wind but seem to move with a life of their own. Many have been fitted with contemporary features to reflect evolution in process, one such being a coastal defence mechanism (a spade implement that effectively redistributes sand), although again these appear somewhat implausible in practicality.

Jansen has made a career of combining science with art and challenging expectations. An early project involved releasing a helium filled flying saucer over the Dutch town of Delft which brought the public into a frenzy. In 1985 he explored the idea of human flying machines, creating a Da Vinci-esque contraption suspended by wires that could easily have found its way onto the set of Terry Gilliam's sci-fi classic Brazil. These have lead neatly to his Strandbeesten, which seem to have the potential for further metamorphosis into stranger and more challenging forms.

Seeing the creatures at the ICA was a treat, and Jansen's determination to develop them further into self sufficient beings is an admirable if slightly unbelievable ambition. However, one senses he is keener to make a statement about the way nature changes and develops to meet its surroundings, and in this respect he has succeeded. With the leaps and bounds in technology in the last two centuries, the idea of artificial intelligence and robot sentience doesn't seem so far off. Perhaps if we leave Jansen to his work at the quiet beach at Ypenburg, these ideas may come to fruition just that bit sooner.

Theo Jansen's Strandbeesten can be seen at his beachanimal-laboratory on Ypenburg beach, Holland

For more information visit his website http://www.strandbeest.com/