Continuing from its sell-out season at the Hayward Gallery, London in 2013, the exhibition Light Show moved onto the Auckland Art Gallery in October ahead of its debut in Sydney later this year. The exhibition showcases a selection of some of the finest contemporary works that show off light in all its splendour, alongside works unseen in decades and others re-created especially for the exhibit.
I had the opportunity to head along to the exhibition last month and was blown away by the variety of works on offer, taking over two floors of the venue. Sydneysiders may be reminded of the Olafur Eliasson exhibition at the MCA in 2009, Take Your Time, and the experience isn’t too dissimilar. Unsurprising, Eliasson features in the exhibition with his “Model for a Timeless Garden”, featuring strobe lights that illuminate over 27 water effects and fountains, giving the liquid the appearance of a different entity. Icy, stuck in motion. It’s entrancing, and one of my favourite parts of the exhibition. You can view a video of it below.
Olafur’s Cubic Structural Evolution Project – which is basically a whole lot of white LEGO bricks – is also here. Leo Villareal‘s “Cylinder II”, with its 19,600 LED lights is another highlight. I recommend walking around it – let yourself get transfixed into the stars. This video only slightly does it justice: it’s a whole other experience live.
It’s fascinating to see how light is articulated through these art forms in different ways. Take these four as an example: Katie Paterson simulates moonlight with a single bulb, James Turrell‘s “Wedgework V” (1974) creates the illusion of haze in a dark room, while Anthony McCall‘s “You and I, Horizontal” (2005) is a ‘solid light’ installation involving a video projector and a haze machine, creating lines of light which you can break apart with your hands and body. And the way light plays with our perception of floating cubes is experimented upon in a massive installation by Carlos Cruz-Diaz.
Elsewhere, 1,152 seemingly random LEDs create imagery when viewed at the correct angle while in another piece, Jenny Holzer‘s “Torso”, 10 double sided semicircular electronic LED signs give off messages like “ambivalence can ruin your life”. Then there’s Iván Navarro‘s “Reality Show (Silver)”, which puts you inside the artwork, with infinite reflections: you can see in but you can’t see out. All you see is infinity…
Dan Flavin‘s 1963 work “The Nominal Three (to William of Ockham)” is on display alongside his later “Untitled (to the “innovator” of wheeling peachblow)”. And “Magic Hour” by David Batchelor takes us behind the light boxes with an illuminating spectacle. A small free exhibition designed for families, “Wavelength”, can also be discovered, giving the younger members of your family some interactive light and sound to keep them occupied.
This is a spellbinding exhibit, which delivers on the intent provided by its title: a light show unlike any other. Definitely give yourself a few hours to immerse yourself in it all. You’ll need it!
The price of admission no doubt covers the Museum’s electricity bill. The exhibition is moving to Sydney later this year, surely at the MCA – though yet to be confirmed officially. But for now, it’s at the Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand until 20 February 2015. Admission for Adults is $15 and you can find more details about it here: http://www.aucklandartgallery.com/lightshow/welcome
Editors Note March 2nd: Light Show has officially been announced for a season at the MCA from April. For more details head here: http://www.mca.com.au/
