Light Art Festival "Shining Light"

The tour

You can customize the tour of the Light Art Festival.

(1) Aftereal by Yasuhiro Chida

credits: © Janus van den Eijnden

You may remember doing this as a child on New Year’s Eve: drawing or writing in the air, using a sparkler. The ‘drawing’ is caused by something called a light aftermath, or better yet, the sparkler’s trail effect.

The image of the luminous sparks is captured in your brain for just a fraction of a second, and is immediately supplemented by a new image as you move the sparkler. Together the images seem to form a trail of light, which is how the fleeting drawing is created, even though it’s not actually there; it’s a unique after image.

This special phenomenon takes center stage in the installation Aftereal by Japanese artist Yasuhiro Chida. Chida often creates large installations in natural surroundings, which he prefers to build himself using simple materials. Aftereal consists of hundreds of elastic wires that move up and down with the help of small motors and light up in the dark with UV lights. The image of the wave-like movements made by the wires lingers in your brain – just like the light drawing created by the sparkler – and it appears as though you’re looking at a large landscape of line drawings.

Chida shows us how reality as we experience it is an illusion that we create with our own eyes and brain. And despite all of the smartphones, HD cameras and VR glasses that we have at our disposal, our eyes (although maybe not as reliable as we might want) are still the most important medium in the world.

(2) Birds Fly Around with You by Masamichi Shimada

credits: © Masamichi Shimada

Birds Fly Around With You is an interactive light sculpture which will enchant young and old. The installation is based on the zoetrope, a machine that preceded cinema. In this machine a disk is rotated at a certain speed; anyone who looks through a small slot can see a figure that appears to move.

A visitor who comes in close proximity of this installation will start the machine. The birds light up one by one and thus create the illusion that they are flying. As more people move around the artwork, more birds will fly. This technical miracle has been developed, designed and programmed by the artist.

(3) Bloomlight by VOUW

credits: © VOUW

The Bloomlights are a series of lanterns that respond to passersby like an organic creature. Upon sensing a human, the Bloomlight slowly bends to meet them whilst unfurling its blooms to reveal a soft light, much like a curious organism might. The passerby experiences a rare sensation of being seen, and responded to, by a friendly-seeming machine, whilst they are comforted by the bloom’s warm glow. As they walk away, the Bloomlight gradually returns to its upright resting position, closes its bloom and dims its light, just like nothing ever happened.

Taking inspiration from nature, Bloomlight reimagines what street lighting could be: interactive, calming, breathtaking. The philosophy of the Bloomlight also encompasses a statement about light pollution; the light of the bloom only shines bright when it is needed, the rest of the time it is dim and passive, giving centre stage to the starlight above.

(4) Light a Wish by OGE Group

credits: © Bart Heemskerk

Make a wish before you blow the fluff from a dandelion into the air – everyone knows this game. OGE Group’s Light a Wish visualises the moment the seeds disperse in the air, taking your wish with them into the world.

The enlarged, fuzzy seeds – of which there are 20 in total and measure 2 metres in height – dangle carefully in the air and glow in a way that makes it look as though they are breathing. With Light a Wish the artists visualise the good intentions that we quietly release and (hopefully) encounter again in the future. In this way the illuminated dandelion puffballs are carriers of our deepest desires and dreams.

In the old days, blowing dandelion seeds into the air was also done as a superstitious act: the number of seeds that remained signified the number of years you had to wait to get married, how many children you would have with your loved one, or how many years you still had to live. But before we can take a look in the future, we have to wait a little longer for spring.

(5) Sign by Paul Vendel and Sandra de Wolf

credits: © Festa delle Luci

Fire! Few words are able to grab people’s attention like ‘fire’. Still, they don’t always flee the scene. Someone once told me that when there’s a big fire you see animals running away. People, on the other hand, are attracted by the flames. Our curiosity draws us towards the blaze.

With the installation Sign we can see tongues of fire rising metres into the air. This captivating illusion, designed by the artist duo of Vendel & De Wolf, consists of bamboo poles covered with aluminium tape. When you point a light on them, the poles are transformed into a mass of flickering flames. The night air lights up in a spray of sparks. It’s a frightening and fascinating sight. And not just because flames are so spectacular. It’s also because fire equals destruction. And destruction leads to new beginnings.

Fire turns sand into glass, dough into bread. It razes forests and makes the soil fertile at the same time. Fire can change everything in one fell swoop. And while you can run away from something like that – like a scaredy-cat – you can also step forward and embrace the new beginning. Maybe that’s why they called this work ‘Sign’. It’s a starting signal. Surrender to the blaze, stare into the flames of change.

(6) Absorbed by Light by Gali May Lucas

credits: © Janus van den Eijnden

Three figures sit next to each other on a bench, displaying the typical characteristics of smartphone users: their heads are bent, fingers typing and swiping, and their faces lit up by their phone screens. While their bodies are physically present, their minds are elsewhere.

You can experience the way this affects others by taking a seat in between the figures of ‚Absorbed by Light‘, designed by the British Gali May Lucas and executed by Berlin-based sculptor Karoline Hinz.

The phone and computer screens that, literally and figuratively, light up our lives are irresistible. We read new messages immediately and want easy access to our social media, useful apps, and browser. Our smartphones are with us all the time – in bed, on the toilet, in the train, at our desk. They are an extension of our contact with our families, friends, and even people on the other side of the world. And as a result, we engage ourselves more with the virtual and superficial reality than with each other and the real world around us, something Lucas makes painfully clear. Actively involving the audience in the ‘story’ is a recurring feature in the work of the British artist, who has been working as a graphic designer at different international agencies.

(7) Neighborhood by Sergey Kim

Illuminated laundry hangs to dry on washing lines, as though it were a hot summer day. Glowing white garments, and a cheerful collection of blouses, T-shirts, underwear, trousers, dresses, a pair of wide Turkish pants, a traditional Jewish dress, and a Moroccan djellaba. Together these pieces represent the cultural and ethnic mix of residents in the city as a subtle but surprising intervention in the cityscape.

The washing lines create a friendly, neighbourhood feeling. It is this connection that is paramount for Sergey Kim; according to the artist, despite globalisation and the wealth of information exchange around the world, we increasingly fear foreigners. In large cities, people live in isolation, it’s common not to know your neighbours. The artist hopes to send a positive message into the world by using something as every day and universal as drying laundry to represent an image of people coexisting harmoniously.

Everything in Neighborhood emits light, from the garments to the clothes pegs and the washing line itself. Sergey is fascinated by the impact of light on everyday objects. Specifically, he’s interested in how applying light can change an item’s meaning entirely.

(8) Butterfly Effect by Masamichi Shimada

Six gigantic butterflies have landed on the surface of the landscape, their wings glowing blue against the dark night. At first sight, the artwork seems to portray a peaceful, almost magical scene. But with his artwork Butterfly Effect, Masamichi Shimada attempts to portray how something as delicate as a butterfly can possess such immense power.

The title of the artwork refers to American scientist and meteorologist Edward Lorenz’s (1917-2008) 1961 lecture titled, ‘Predictability, does the Flap of a Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil Set Off a Tornado in Texas?’. Lorenz researched how a seemingly insignificant action, such as a butterfly flapping its wings, can activate a chain of events that can result in much bigger changes, such as the emergence of a destructive tornado in Texas. Lorenz’s butterfly effect is a metaphor; although not scientifically possible, it demonstrates how daily life, the weather, or the stock exchange have a certain degree of unpredictability, and that chaos or crisis is always just around the corner.

About the Light Art Collection Amsterdam:

Light Art Collection wants to connect, enlighten and move people all over the world through the universal language of light art. Founded in 2017, the organisation distinguishes itself for its renowned light art collection, its focus on thoughtful curating, tailored consulting and an extensive track-record in producing light art installations for large audiences. At the core of its collection is a selection of artworks that were commissioned by and created for Amsterdam Light Festival. Furthermore, the collection is also formed by other pieces and continues to expand over the years. Continuously being added to, the collection is the largest of its kind in the world.

With over a decade of experience in the field of light art, originated from Amsterdam Light Festival and their more recent international operations, they put their knowledge and expertise to work and co-create exceptional, high-quality light art experiences that are whimsical, custom-made and convey a sense of storytelling to the public. Light Art Collection has an established network of professional partners worldwide, ranging from city planners, to developers, museums, artists and more.

With the belief that light art-driven experiences deserve the best execution, Light Art Collection delivers on various client wishes, connects with diverse cultures and facilitates stories worth telling.

By providing the artworks an international stage, Light Art Collection revitalises environments, shifts residents and visitors’ perceptions, and creates positive impact for the community. Light art exhibitions have taken place at festivals and cultural centres, public spaces and private venues in Athens, Brussels, Hong Kong, London, New York, Riyadh, and in many other cities.