Light is a substance that eagerly attracts interest and curiosity. Fascinations with light can be traced back to early observations of stars, flames, aurora lights and other light phenomena to today where we are constantly engrossed and saturated with light encapsulated objects. A selection of artists who have investigated light through their practice will have their work displayed at The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia this winter in a major survey – ‘Light Show’. This exhibition features nearly 20 installations and sculptures created by international artists; some of which are contemporary and others with work dating back to the early 1960s. The different stages of the evolution of light saw these artists push through the accessible technological capabilities of the time.
Organised by the Hayward Gallery, London and directed by Dr Cliff Lauson, this travelling exhibition saw a sell out show in London and record attendances at Auckland Art Gallery. ‘Light Show’ encases within its gallery walls places of enchantment and excitement. Entering rooms that glimmer with different forms of light question ideas of perception and association. Certain works are capable of skewing perspectives, widening senses and shifting familiarities. Eyes are partially tricked into believing that known areas have transformed into celestial landscapes, ones that are breathtakingly enthralling and visually alluring.
MCA Director, Curatorial & Digital, Blair French explains that ‘Light Show’ will “deepen public engagement with the potential and actuality of the way in which artists work with light as a material.” The exhibition will compliment and coincide with the ‘Vivid 2015’ 18 day festival of light, which attracts large numbers to specific sites across Sydney. French divides the exhibition into two key features; “One is the sculptures made of light that you’re looking at and one is the light environments that you are immersed within. It is getting the right balance of how you move from one to the other which is quite a challenge but I think one that is looking good.”
Some of the common reactions from the exhibitions previous incarnations saw children and people of all ages sit and watch the installations for long periods of time. While the space is filled with a lively energy, people have previously approached the installations with a form of calm excitement. French reflects that the works “…have quite a temporal quality so a number of the light sculptures of course are constantly in flux, they are constantly changing whether it’s flickering LEDs or slowly heating, cooling, glowing and dimming forms of the analogue form of light.” He continues, “We have created different types of experience where some of the works speak to each other, they inhabit shared spaces in certain situations and I think this will amplify the experience of each. You will get a greater sense of the whole of the exhibition.” Freely walking throughout the designated spaces and choosing which works deserve more time will fulfill the expectations of the survey.
French hopes that audiences will take with them “…a sense that there is a really strong history in the way in which artists in particular have explored the potential of light. It makes us think about the space around us and to think about our own perception.” Stepping into these rooms away from everyday rituals will leave an impression on those who experience and become apart of these captivating surroundings.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
16 April to 5 July, 2015
Sydney
Anthony McCall, You and I Horizontal, 2005, installation view Institut d’Art Contemporain, Villeurbanne, 2006
Photography: Blaise Adilon
Conrad Shawcross, Slow Arc Inside a Cube IV, 2009, installation view Light Show Hayward Gallery, 2013.
Photography: Marcus J. Leith
