An Offering of Light for the XXIst Century 2001

Art Action, Collaboration with Lycée Élie Vinet, The City of Barbezieux and the Fondation DANAE, Jarnac, France
Six light devices from the XXth century: a red fluorescent tube, a bleu neon string, two car head lights, an incandescent light bulb harbouring a LOVE motif, a black and white television

An Offering of Light for the XXIst Century was realized during an artist residency at Lycée Élie Vinet in Barbezieux, France, in collaboration with Fondation DANAE in Jarnac, France. Stemming from an art action and research with the students at the lycée, three installations were created throughout the city: Shadow and Light at Lycée Élie Vinet, Light-Portraits at the ancient market place, and We Are Light at the castle’s chapel.

The art action of offering light for the XXIst century commemorates the passage from one century to the next. Each participant was offered 15 minutes of light to accompany him/her in the new millennium. Five light devices that changed our existence in the XXth century were offered to the students. They were a set of car lights, an incandescent light bulb with a filament in the form of the word LOVE, a flexible and portable blue light tube, a red fluorescent tube, and a black and white television. In addition, each type of light commemorated XXth century artists who were innovators in this area.

While the participant was exposed to the light, I interrogated him/her on his/her choice of lighting apparatus, his/her aesthetics and perception of light in our culture, its symbolic value. For example, had he/she had any experiences where light changed his/her perception of an actual situation? What name would he/she choose, if he/she were to use a name for a type of light? …Flash, Sun, Lightning…

During the conversation, I was photographing the participant’s shadow-silhouette, as well as drawing it on paper-veil using contour lines. Subsequently, the action and research formed the raw material which was used in the installations Shadow and Light, Light-Protraits, and We Are Light. 

Shadow and Light 2001

Lycée Élie Vinet, Villes de Barbezieux, France — Artiste en résidence, Fondation DANAE, Jarnac, France
Papier/Veil, felt pen, natural light — Integrated in the exhibition space

The large white paper-veil drawings originate from student’s shadows at Lycée Élie Vinet. The drawn bodies are organised and positioned to create an ascending movement in space. The transparency and lightness of the paper-veils allow the images of the bodies to float in the natural light of the installation space.

Light-Portraits 2001

Ancient market place of Barbezieux — Artist in residence, Fondation DANAE
Text, natural light, slide projections integrated in the exhibition space

In the ancient covered market place of Barbezieux, the installation Portraits/lumière of luminous silhouettes of young people enlivens the space. Projected onto the bases of wooden and stone pillars, each portrait momentarily holds a central place, symbolically contributing to the community’s continuing life line.

We Are Light 2001

Château de Barbezieux — Artist in residence, Fondation DANAE
Papier/Veil, blue light, natural light, slide projections integrated in the exhibition space

The installation We Are Light at the Château de Barbezieux chapel completes the cycle of installations in the city. The line drawings of the large scale paper-veil of L’ombre en lumière have been transformed into a luminous form. These projections revitalise the chapel by the placement of the city’s youth in the forefront. Their Light-portraits play with the spiritual context of the space and these known and recognisable individuals hold a valued place in the chapel, hence the community.