Wednesday, November 11, 2015

GLOW 2015, Nature and Architecture



2015 sees the tenth edition of GLOW, light in art and architecture. For eight days the city of Eindhoven is all about light art with the city as the stage for several installations. The theme for this anniversary year: Nature and Architecture. This theme harks back to the first edition and also revisits the city's parks along the Dommel river.



Below the GLOW Cafe the nominees for the Foederer Talent Award are showing their work. The best entry was by Elleke de Vries who designed these lighting cubes that light up when the two magnets on the back complete the circuit with the metal wall (left). The title work 'Nature & Architecture' by Noralie explores the impact of vegetation on the way we perceive the built environment by projecting gardens on facades (middle). Ninety oversized flowers crafted from empty water bottles that have been cut up grace the edge of the Anne Frank Gardens (Anne Frankplantsoen). This installation 'Giant Dandelions' was created by Olivia d'Aboville.



Works by Luminarie De Cagna have proven very popular in the past years. So this year a reprise of their Cathedral of Light under the titel 'Il Giardino Incanto' on the square in front of City Hall. Impressive it certainly is, but why that awful carnival music?  



The work 'Interstices in a synaptic space' stole my heart. This installation by Afterlight brings a plane piece of graffiti to life with great effectiveness changing the flat surface into a moving and changing 3D sculpture. In one word: amazing!



A large light installation by Har Hollands adorns the dome of this shopping centre, celebrating the completion of its renovation. Like rain the light drops down (left). The French artist-duo Atsara are fascinated by the interaction of light and space. Creating ephemeral installations that capture changing perceptions 'Moïra' was like a cloud dispersing and reflecting light (middle). Afterlight also created an installation based on Extreme Ultra Violet laser technology used in the production of computer chips. This installation 'Lithographic World' takes inspiration from one of the ASML machines with the laser light refraction within a sphere.



'Dia de Muertes', an projection of skulls by Projektil explores the Mexican tradition of decorating ancestral skulls at All Souls Day (left). Another installation in the Anne Frank Gardens was 'Horizontal Interference' by the Polish duo Malejka and Slugocki. It comprises of horizontal wires linking mature trees in the park which light up in several colours when lit in a special way (middle), thus transforming nature. Transforming nature was also the basis of 'Pleasant Places' by Quayola. Celebrating Van Gogh the artist captured the current landscapes of the Provence and transmutes them into the palette of Vincent by means of digital manipulation.



Séverine Fontaine celebrated the light bulb in the work 'Incandescence' which showed the once most produced types of incandescent bulb by Philips with the cap base E27 taking centre stage in a coordinated show of light and sound (left) along the river in the Dommel Gardens (Dommelplantsoen). In the Stadswandelpark (City Promenade Park) the primal glow of fire was demonstrated in an installation called 'Large Fire Tornado' by Ivo Schoofs that created a towering flame 12 metres high. Further along the same park 'Inside Out: The Cathedral' by Forum InterArt plays with the reversal of indoor and outdoor space by lighting the former formal drive of a demolished mansion. The bluish light reflecting of the underside of the oak leaves created a natural cathedral space which was enhanced by fitting music.

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