GLOW Eindhoven 2016: City and Science

This year's instalment of the light festival GLOW comprises of a theme translated into two distinct but overlapping routes: City and Science. The city route focuses mainly on the town centre, whilst the science route is located on the TU/e campus. In the past few editions the GLOW and GLOW Next events were held in separate locations, now they have been combined as part of either route. Due to the massive overcrowding in the past two years the route has been lengthened and two separate loops were created. This also means that projects are further apart! GLOW 2016 comprises of 29 light art projects and installations, of which 12 are part of GLOW NEXT.

The project "Luminus" -within GLOW NEXT- was created by the student association CHEOPS in collaboration with Lucid and comprises of a tangle of light tubes that react to touch and change hue accordingly. "Lithographic World" -shown on the right- by Afterlight is a reprise of an earlier installation.

Also part of GLOW NEXT is a project by the students of St Lucas Academy for the Arts called "In another LIght" with a clever use of lighting to change the perception of the image that we see. An thus how we view the people around us. In keeping with this message is the project "Just because you are a character, doesn't mean you have character" by Ivo Schoofs. This installation translates kinetic energy into a changing shape and changing light colours (right).

Created by the Technical University Eindhoven (TU/e), the GLOW NEXT project "Intermedia" explores the interaction between people and technology by projecting moving shapes on large screens with people on both sides influencing the image created. The shapes range from lines to basic geometric shapes (left) and outlines (middle). Wouter Brave created "Lumière Tango" on the TU/e campus. The 48 light beams perform a choreography and dance through the air.

The Belgian artist Tom de Kyvere explores the relationship between the mind and reality in his installation "Cortex Machine". A web of wires strung between the trees create ever more connections (middle) which create small blue pulses that accumulate in a large conduit that lead up the KPN Building (left) in an enormous burst. Several stops are incorporated into each route. Here the Glow Cafe behind Philips Lighting on the Lichtplein (Square of Lights).

Three students of Electrical Engineering at the Fontys University of Applied Science created a large installation dubbed "Tunnel of Light". It was originally conceived as part of their course work. This interactive installation is now part of GLOW NEXT. The lights change as people move through the installation creating amazing effects inside and out.

"Step into the Light" can be seen from afar (left) as the beams of light cut through the night sky over Eindhoven. Michel Suk created a 4 metre high circular installation (middle) projecting light upwards with each beam producing a fascinating interplay of light and rhythm, resulting in often spectacular patterns drawn in the sky above your head once inside the circle (right).

Each year the Church of Saint Catharine in the historic heart of the city is the backdrop for a spectacular projection which combines light effects and sounds (music).In the Hieronymus Bosch Year the projection celebrated this noted medieval artist (left). The most interesting project of this year's edition was undoubtedly "Flux Apparition - Moving through perception and illusion". For this project Dynamo (a music venue) collaborated with 250K, Eyesupply and The Art of Light to create an installation that explores how the digital world is closing in on reality blending analogue (a dancer) and digital (a 3D holographic projection). Amazing!