Lumiere Shanghai shines a light on Xintiandi shops
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"Absorbed by Light," Gali May Lucas
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Fly Your Light," OGE Group
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Trumpet Flower," amigo and amigo
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Trumpet Flower," amigo and amigo
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"'Re' Floating The Plastic," AaaM
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"'Re' Floating The Plastic," AaaM
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Fly Your Light," OGE Group
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Absorbed by Light," Gali May Lucas
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Trumpet Flower," amigo and amigo
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Never Ends"
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"'Re' Floating The Plastics," AaaM
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"The Anooki Escape"
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Constellation"
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE -
"Today I Love You," Massimo Uberti
Wang Rongjiang / SHINE
Eight art lighting objects have been recently installed in Xintiandi as part of the 2019 Lumiere Shanghai lighting festival — lending an air of festivity to the downtown shopping hub.
Most of the installations are on display for the first time in the Chinese mainland.
The urgency of tackling climate change and seeking sustainability has been a major inspiration for the artists and architects this year.
“‘Re’Floating The Plastic,” a lighting installation work by Hong Kong-based architect studio AaaM, is made from thousands of recycled plastic cups.
“The challenge for us is how to make something really artistic with recycled materials, rather than just at the rough DIY level,” said Chan Shuyan, architect and founder of AaaM.
Taking the shape of duckweeds, the light artwork wants to share a message with the public that everyone can save the planet by starting with the most common things in daily life — plastic milk tea and coffee cups.
Light designers from Amsterdam-based OGR Group set up a 7-meter-high luminous flower at the crossroad of Taicang and Madong roads.
Linking the lighting system with a bicycle, the interactive “Fly Your Light” invites the public to ride on “the light journey.” The colors of the light flower will keep changing once a cyclist starts paddling. The LED light bulbs used will be later donated to schools in poverty-stricken areas in China.
“The Anooki Escape,” the three-time winner of the Lyon Light Festival for most popular work in France, made its debut in China at Ruihong Xintiandi, another venue of the light festival. Two giant luminous Inuits, who are on an escape run, climb down from the rooftop garden of the shopping mall.
The light design was inspired by the “urgency of climate change,” said David Passengand, one of the artists behind the artwork.
The Anooki, who are Inuits from the Canadian Arctic, are the first refugees of climate change, suffering from melting ice fields. Passengand and his team thus came up with the idea of the Anooki running to spread the word and raise awareness to protect the environment.
Passengand hopes “through play, it could highlight important issues and that the Anooki has a universal appeal to both children and adults because everyone has a certain childlike wonder in them.”
Other highlights include “Trumpet Flower” by Australian lighting design studio Amigo and Amigo. The installation comprises 27 flowers varying from two to six meters in height.
If you press the trumpet keys beneath the flowers the different musical bites will be played, such as a trumpet, trombone, tuba and drum sound.
“To create full-sensory immersive experiences, you want to be playing with sound, light and a tactile touch. To create a place that surrounds you, which will separate you from the rest of the public space,” said Simone Chua, the studio’s director.
The musical sound bites come from an original jazz performance track, written and recorded alive by Sydney musicians. Yet, by pressing the keys, people can create their own sounds.
“The idea was to give a fun party lazy jazzie vibe,” Chua said. “So it’s not only a light artwork.”
The light festival runs through January 5, 2020.
(Diantha Chong also contributed to the story.)
