8 minute read
Under One Sky
With installations from more than 60 renowned light artists, Saudi Arabia’s Noor Riyadh was a four-month celebration of light and art, which saw two pieces claim Guinness World Records.
Pics: © Riyadh Art
Held from March to June, Noor Riyadh brought a fiesta of light and art to Saudi Arabia in one of the world’s largest light festivals. The festival comprised of artworks from more than 60 artists spanning over 20 countries under the theme of Under One Sky, welcoming more than 300,000 visitors throughout its four-month running. The event also included a landmark exhibition – Light Upon Light: Light Art since the 1960s, curated by Susan Davidson, former Senior Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and Raneem Zaki Farsi, Curator, Art Advisor and an expert in Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene. The exhibition, held at the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Centre, was divided into four sectional “rays” that surveyed light as an artistic medium: “Perceiving Light”, “Experiencing Light”, “Projecting Light”, and “Environmental Light”. These sectional rays serve as a point of reference to the types of illumination in each sector. Taken as a whole, the exhibition offers a variety of stimulating experiences in contemporary light-art. ‘Perceiving Light’ unites eight of the most recognised mid-twentieth century light-art practitioners, including Lucio Fontana’s Ambiente spaziale a luce rossa (1967); James Turrell’s Afrum (Pale Pink) (1967); Dan Flavin’s Untitled (To Sabine and Holger) (1966 – 1971); and Nancy Holt’s Holes of Light (1973). In ‘Experiencing Light’, nine contemporary artworks explore light through advanced technologies and human interaction.
This includes Urs Fischer’s Leo (George and Irmelin) (2019); Rashed AlShashai’s Searching for Darkness (2021); and Yayoi Kusama’s instantly recognisable Infinity Room – Brilliance of the Souls (2014). Within ‘Projecting Light’ works such as Ahmed Mater’s Antenna (Green) (2010); Maha Malluh’s Capturing Light (2010), and Ahmad Angawi’s Proportion of Light (2021) consider light as a source of transmission. ‘Environmental Light’ addresses the ecological future of the planet, exploring factors of elemental nature and urban decay, and considering our personal responsibility towards sustainable futures. The six works on display include Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Recurrent Anaximander (2019) and Abdullah Al-Othman’s Casino Al Riyadh (2021). The exhibit also featured landmark installations from the likes of teamLab (Flowers and People – A Whole Year per Hour, 2020), Leo Villareal (Corona, 2018), and Iván Navarro (Podium, 2018) Since its opening on March 18, Noor Riyadh sought to showcase the power of inclusivity and shared humanity through art across the festival’s 13 locations in the city. The festival also offered residents and visitors the opportunity to take part in a wide variety of tours, musical and cinematic performances, workshops and family activities. Noor Riyadh’s theme of Under One Sky was intended to act as a catalyst for artists to create works that respond to inclusivity and shared humanity. “It alludes to the universal impulse to gather around light, to look into the flames of a campfire and to gaze at the stars,” event organisers said. Encompassing all forms of light-art, including sculptures, projections, interactive shows, kinetic and immersive pieces, the citywide installations included more than 30 works of art across multiple locations, with stunning, landmark pieces from the likes of Aleksandra Stratimirovic (Northern Lights, 2015), Daan Roosegaarde (Glowing Nature, 2021), Christopher Bauder and Kangding Ray (Skalar, 2021) and Robert Wilson (Daydream / Palace of Light, 2021). The festival also broke two separate Guinness World Records for the Largest LED Structure, in Karolina Halatek’s Beacon, which comprises of 272,160 LEDs; and the Brightest Suspended Ornament in Koert Vermeulen’s Star in Motion – its 1.2million lumens hanging at a height of 256-metres atop Riyadh’s iconic Kingdom Tower. Through Beacon, Halatek invited viewers to be immersed in a dazzling white light, in the form of a pillar that points towards the sky, intended to evoke the sublime matters between heaven and earth. On one hand, the light pillar is used as a sign of guidance and protection; on the other, its white light includes all colours of the spectrum and refers to the concept of completeness.
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3 1. Koert Vermeulen’s Star in Motion, a six-metre glowing jewel atop Riyadh’s Kingdom Tower. The installation won a Guinness World Record as the Brightest Suspended Ornament. (Courtesy of the artist) 2. Daan Roosegaarde’s Glowing Nature was one of several high-profile installations to feature at the festival. (Courtesy of Studio Roosegaarde) 3. Beacon, by Karolina Halatek, also won a Guinness World Record, being recognised as the Largest LED Structure - the piece comprises more than 270,000 LEDs. (Courtesy of the artist)
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1. Palace of Light, Robert Wilson (Courtesy of the artist) 2. City Gazing Riyadh, VOUW (Courtesy of the artist and Light Art Collection) 3. Northern Lights, Aleksandra Stratimirovic (Courtesy of the artist and Light Art Collection) 4. Corona, Leo Villareal (Courtesy of the artist and the Farjam Collection, Dubai) 5. Infinity Mirror Room - Brilliance of Souls, Yayoi Kusama (Courtesy of Royal Commission for AlUla) 6. Searching for Darkness, Rashed AlShahai (Courtesy of the artist and Hafez Gallery) 7. Skalar, Christopher Bauder and Kangding Ray (Courtesy of the artists) 8. Flowers and People - A Whole Year per Hour, teamLab (Courtesy of teamLab, Pace Gallery and Superblue) Although monumental in its scope, the piece also offered viewers with a small, intricate space that they can enter, experiencing the work from inside and shifting their perceptions to become embraced by the unexpected, extraordinary brightness. “It’s formal simplicity and the purity of its white light generate a mysterious, yet calming effect on those who approach it,” said Halatek. Shining atop Riyadh’s Kingdom Tower, Vermeulen’s Star in Motion illuminates the night sky, while underscoring the festival’s theme of Under One Sky. Six metres in diameter, the installation became one of the main focal points for the festival, acting as a beacon of hope and celebration for the event. Vermeulen, Principal Designer and Founder of Belgium-based ACTLD, explained how he created the piece: “The creative director approached me with a few locations, the first one being Kingdom Tower. I’ve done some work in Riyadh before, and once I heard the festival’s theme of Under One Sky, the inspiration came in a matter of minutes. We didn’t even need to discuss the other locations. “There was a very intense three-to-four-week period into which designs went back and forth. The original star was going to be nine metres in diameter, but due to safety concerns regarding the wind speed at the top of the tower, we reduced this down to six metres. “We were commissioned in mid-November and had to put it onto transport to Riyadh by the end of January, so it was a very quick turnaround; but my construction company was luckily able to deliver on time.” With the Guinness World Record, Vermeulen and his team at ACTLD became the first independent lighting design studio to win a world record. Speaking of the acknowledgement, Vermeulen added: “When you look at LED screens outdoors, whether at football stadiums or places like Times Square, they’re around 5,000 to 7,000 candela per square metre – our object is close to 15,000. The organisers were very worried that it would not be seen, as it is 256-metres high, but I was confident that it would be a bright object. “A lot of people have records on lighting, but to be the first independent lighting design studio is great. Of course, as lighting designers, we have a responsibility of being good for nature and protecting dark skies, so to have created the world’s brightest object is a bit of a pun… “A lot of the time, the object runs at 10% of its actual intensity,” he continued. “It only reaches full
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brightness a few times during its programming – the idea was that it would show the creation and demise of a star, a process that usually takes 60 billion years, in one minute. From creation to the sun, to a gas giant, before it implodes into a black hole. It is at the moment of creation and implosion that it is at full brightness.” The piece quickly became one of the stand-out installations of the event, and considering the list of lighting luminaries featured at the festival, Vermeulen was very humbled by the reception that Star in Motion received. “It was only six weeks before the opening that I saw the list of the other lighting artists that were present there, and I felt in very good company, with the likes of Turrell and Robert Wilson – my heroes. I felt comfortable with the design, but I didn’t know that it was going to be so well received. For people to say that it was their favourite object of the festival was a wonderful thing.” Noor Riyadh was part of the larger Riyadh Art programme, which invested in more than 1,000 pieces of public art to turn the city into a gallery without walls. Director of Riyadh Art Khaled Al-Hazani said: “Noor Riyadh is a celebration of light and art on an unparalleled scale. Art is a universal language and light is a symbol of hope and, in these challenging times, it is my hope that this festival shines like a beacon to the world and illuminates our path to a brighter future reflecting our theme of Under One Sky. “Noor Riyadh has been designed as an immersive, interactive festival of light and art and, whether you are here in-person or engaging with us online around the world, this is an opportunity to connect with people from across the globe, sharing experiences based on the warmth of personality, generosity of spirit and creative thought.”
