Rückblick 2024 – EN – Light our Vision – The Chemnitz Festival of Light Art

Looking back at LOV 2024

The second edition of “Light our Vision”, this time themed LICHT.MACHT.PLATZ. (LIGHT.MAKES.SPACE.), inspired visitors with an international line-up and a record number of applications from all over the world. Over 100 submissions where whittled down to a select few light artists chosen to present their works at various locations in Chemnitz city centre. A total of 21 artists created fascinating experiences with unique installations, projections and interactive light art.

From the imposing facade of the city’s main station to surprising productions on Marienplatz, the programme brought together innovative light installations that blurred the boundaries between architecture and art. The artists took a diverse range of approaches, from abstract projections to immersive soundscapes and interactive installations. It was four evenings full of surprising sights and creative visions!

Locations along the route

Standorte & Künstler:innen entlang der Route

LOV project (jury selection)

Partner project

1. Hauptbahnhof (main station) – LED facade on the car park

“Shortcut zum Kipppunkt” (“Shortcut to the Tipping Point”) Poetry as the light at the end of the tunnel – the main station’s LED facade as a “Shortcut to the Tipping Point”

Who’s the artist?
Antje Meichsner, aka Shannon Soundquist

Dresden-based visual artist Antje Meichsner first breathed life into the façade of Chemnitz’s main station during the “Pochen” media art festival back in 2018. Her works have a profound conceptual background. She creates digital, pixel-based graphics that come alive through strong contrasts between light and dark. She then combines these with emotion-driven literary texts that describe our state of mind after consuming social media content. Together they create a symbiosis of poetry and light.

2. Hauptbahnhof (main station) – Entrance

o.T.
– ohne Details (Untitled – without details)

An untitled installation, but one with a message that will hopefully stay with the audience for a long time to come.

Who’s the artist? Rico Meier

Video artist Rico Meier has made a name for himself with his experimental productions. He was even able to get DJ and music producer Nelson Beats, aka Nelson Könnigke, to compose some of the music for the show. Meier’s works are not abstract, but are definitely colourful and entertaining.

He was involved in the LOV premiere 2023 with his project “Im Wandel der vier Jahreszeiten” (“The Changing of the Four Seasons”). This year’s facade projection at the city’s main station is a joint project between Light our Vision, Eibenstock-based LEC GmbH, and Deutsche Bahn AG.

3. Hauptbahnhof (central station) – car park

„baumbule!“

Banal everyday routines clash against a party atmosphere – the trees in the car park next to the main station transform into an interactive playground

Who’s the artist? Karl Iaro and Fabio Koll

These light art newcomers from Regensburg are creating a bona fide forest rave!
Their project brings people together in a playful way by using light as an invitation to interact. The everyday banality of the trees standing rank and file in the car park is broken up by the duo’s light installation to create something truly special with the inclusion of interactive elements. Earlier in 2024, the two artists impressed the crowds at the underground festival “Fideralala” with their innovative, community-building light art, which often makes use of recycled materials.

4. Theaterplatz (Theatre Square) – Opernhaus (Opera House)

„Point Line Surface Solid V5“

Fleeting light on eternal architecture – the Chemnitz Opera House as a point of visual abstraction

Who’s the artist? Daniel Rossa

With his projection “Point Line Surface Solid V5”, Bremen-based media artist Daniel Rossa creates a homogeneous dialogue between graphic visualisation and physical structure. Since its 2015 debut, the show has developed into an ever-evolving site-specific production that aims to highlight the individual characteristics of different architectural structures around the world. The artist’s impressive artistic links between the real and digital worlds have already adorned the Sydney Opera House and the Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg.

5. Marienplatz (Mary’s Square) – “Das Deck” pop-up museum

„Evanescent“

The transience of a fleeting moment – including architectural art on Marienplatz

Who’s the artist? Atelier Sisu

With their light and sound installation “Evanescent”, the Sydney-based duo Atelier Sisu, consisting of Renzo B. Larriviere, an industrial designer and sculptor, and architect Zara Pasfield, want to convey fleeting moments of beauty. And they do this using giant bubbles,
arranged to transform light into rainbows and to allow us to view the world from completely new perspectives. They have already won several awards worldwide with their illusory pavilion-like surroundings, including platinum in the London Design Award.

Admission
€7.50 *

6. Marienplatz (Mary’s Square) – “Parteifalte” office complex (rear)

“Widerstandsmoment II” (“Moment of Resistance II”)

Breaking up fossilised spaces – light installation for the “Parteifalte” complex

Who’s the artist? Hinrich Gross

Hamburg-based Hinrich Gross brings architecture to life with his façade mapping project “Widerstandsmoment II” (“Moment of Resistance II”).

When facade photos are projected onto the large building, chunks of light information brush up against each other, causing interference.

This results in blurring and visual disturbances; details and textures seem to change the entire scale. While the visual experience tests us, irritations create space. Gross’s fascinating light art has travelled the world – it has been included in numerous exhibitions in Italy, France, New York, Turkey and even Japan.

Sound: Sylvia Schultes

7. Karl Marx Monument

“Finger weg!” (“Hands off!”)

Lending expressions to a stone-faced figure – captivating stop-motion project on the Karl Marx head statue

Who’s the artist? Vanessa Cardui

Berlin-based video artist Vanessa Cardui creates imaginary worlds with her stop-motion projects and brings static figures to life using a modern form of flip cinema. Her video projections and light installations make art visible and tangible in urban spaces. With “Finger weg!”, she creates changing, multi-layered faces whose emotionally charged expressions form a duality with Karl Marx’s calm countenance. Cardui’s art has met with great acclaim throughout Europe and has been honoured with several awards.

8. Brückenstraße – “Parteifalte“ office complex (front)

„Convergence“

Organic shapes interacting with abstract patterns – a dynamic mosaic for the “Parteifalte” complex

Who’s the artist? Hotaru Visual Guerrilla

Based in the Basque Country, Ander Ugartemendia and Jone Vizcaino are the brains behind the independent creative studio Hotaru Visual Guerrilla.
Their “Convergence” project focuses on creating an audiovisual experience that combines a focus on aesthetics with the world of science. In their 5-minute mapping show, they reinterpret architecture by projecting organic shapes and abstract patterns. Their thought-provoking art has already met with great acclaim in Europe, the US, Asia and Australia, winning several awards.

9. pentagon3 (indoor)

„Paesaggi integrati“

Creating a deconstructed club atmosphere through organic sound scenarios – the pentagon3 as a sound diffuser

Who’s the artist? Simone Sims Longo

The Italian sound and intermedia artist Simone Sims Longo has brought his multidimensional project “Paesaggi Integrati” to town.
In it, he weaves the sound of acoustic instruments and digital audio into atmospheric landscapes, which are emphasised by his precise use of light installations. Multi-channel speaker diffusion reverberates the sounds around the room to create a truly unique experience. Simone Sims Longo has exhibited his installations throughout Europe, drawing people into his maelstrom of sound and light.

Admission
€ 7.50 *

10. Stadthalle congress centre

„Don’t you know Earth is a paradise?!“

Paradisiacal video mapping on Earth – the Stadthalle as a utopian narrative

Who’s the artist? Liudmila Siewerski

Berlin-based video artist Liudmila Siewerski uses her special skills to create impressive audiovisual installations, underscored by captivating live performances. She designed her project “Don’t you know earth is a paradise?!” especially for the Stadthalle façade and the Festival of Light Art. It utilises the complex’s structure to give viewers the feeling of truly exploring a utopian garden within an urban environment, merging generative graphics with 3D textures and sound compositions.

11. Stadthallenpark (Stadthalle Congress Centre Park)

„Park intermezzo“

“Park Intermezzo” as a symbol of urbanity – skyscrapers in the Stadthalle Congress Centre Park

Who’s the artist? Katerina Kuznetcowa & Alexander Edisherov

This freelance artist couple from Cologne have been working together since late 2010. Their focus is on creating installations for public spaces in which the theme of “pattern” is always present.
Their various materials are precisely positioned to create a sculptural, three-dimensional work of art. In their “Park Intermezzo” piece, they breathe life into old fruit and vegetable crates through abstract staging, transforming them into illusory high-rise buildings that stand in contrast to the natural surroundings of their location.

12. Stadthallenpark (Stadthalle Congress Centre Park)

„U n I Thing“

One head. One collage. Many faces. – a rhythmic framework for the Stadthalle Congress Centre Park

Who’s the artist? Maik mit dem Bike

This audio and acoustic engineering student from Mittweida studies society and presents his findings in multidimensional collages made of music, video syntheses and papier-mâché. “U n I Thing” deconstructs faces, people, and words and reassembles them across several screens connected by a large mask. This new context is in turn reinterpreted through light and sound installations, so that the viewer is constantly challenged to interpret and engage with new images.

13. Stadthallenbrunnen (Stadthalle Congress Centre fountain)

„dip“

Cyclical intervals of light and mist – one day in 30 minutes at the fountain in front of the Roter Turm (Red Tower)

Who’s the artist? Jonas Vogt

In his installation “dip”, the freelance set and lighting designer tells the story of an entire day in just 30 minutes. His show depicts the homogeneous interplay of light and mist in cyclical intervals. A simple sphere becomes the sun and the fountain a basin to catch the constantly rising and falling vapour. In the context of the city’s eventful history, this metaphor for transience and new beginnings is transformed into the engaging experience for which Vogt’s projects are known and with which he has already made a name for himself throughout Europe.

14. Düsseldorfer Platz (Düsseldorf Square)

Currents – facade projection

A feeling of weightlessness is conveyed through a surreal interplay of colours formed through wind, water and whirlpools.

Who’s the artist? Currents Kollektiv

In their facade mapping project, the artists of the Currents Collective – led by interdisciplinary artist Roman Heller – use visual and musical elements to create a feeling of weightlessness. Coloured droplets in aquariums and moving textiles combine to create a surreal interplay between wind, water and whirlpools, accompanied by a soundtrack composed especially for this project. This fascinating video performance brings art to life, and makes it accessible in a spectacular way. The facade projection on Düsseldorfer Platz is a joint project between Light our Vision and Eibenstock-based LEC GmbH.

15. Brühl promenade (start: Hermannstraße)

“Lichterlabyrinth – als Mahnung und zur Hoffnung” (“Labyrinth of Light – a Symbol of Warning and Hope”)

Who’s the artist? Sächsische Mozart-Gesellschaft e. V.

The Labyrinth of Light, created by the Sächsische Mozart-Gesellschaft e. V., uses light as a symbol of life and the pursuit of peace.
Over 4,000 tealights in sand-filled paper bags form a path on which guests can walk from the outside in and back again – focused, invigorated, perhaps transformed. It is intended to be walked in silence or accompanied by music created and sung by the “100Mozartkinder” and their mentors.
The Labyrinth of Light can only be created if many people work together. Which is why it will run for one night only on 27 September. A trail of light will lead from the Labyrinth of Light on the Brühl promenade to Marienplatz, creating a direct link to a key location of the “Light our Vision” festival. The project is a joint event organised by the Sächsische Mozart-Gesellschaft e.V. and the event agency MIDEA GmbH, with the kind support of the City of Chemnitz from its “Socio-Cultural Youth Fund”.

One night only – 27 September, 5–11 pm

16. Walking Acts

“Unter Wasser” (“Underwater”)

Stilt artists float gracefully through the crowds, dressed as fish, octopuses and seahorses.

Who’s the artist? Oakleaf Streetshow

*Combined tickets for “Das Deck” and pentagon3 are available for €13, valid for one evening only. Children up to 14 years of age are free of charge (only when accompanied by at least one paying adult).

The programme runs daily from 7.30–11 pm. Each show lasts 5–10 minutes, with a 15-minute break in between