Mehr Licht!
Title: Mehr Licht!
Curator, Public Art Agency Sweden: Peter Hagdahl
Commissioner/property owner: Fastighets AB ML4
Documentation: Ricard Estay
Location: MAX IV, Lund University, 2015
One thousand six hundred LEDs are flashing in Lina Selander’s work, chapter by chapter, from sunset to sunrise, on the façade of the MAX IV Laboratory at Lund University. A both abstract and figurative narrative of the early days of film is built up through episodes from the history of light, perception, and the moving image. Clips from classic films such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Eadweard Muybridge’s photo series, and many more are mixed with various light phenomena such as lightning, fireworks, and bioluminescent sea creatures.
Selander’s more than nine hours long work appears on a surface measuring 15 meters high and 9 meters wide. The theme and bright design of Mehr Licht! are directly related to the activities taking place in the new MAX IV complex. The laboratory houses the world’s most powerful source of synchrotron light, which is used to investigate the structure, properties, and functions of molecules and materials.
Lina Selander on her project Mehr Licht!:
“I definitely wanted to use the façade of the building so that the work would be accessible for everyone. Right from the beginning, I wanted to create a landmark piece, something monumental. I thought—and think—especially of all the people who pass by daily in their cars on the road outside. Here is a possibility for everyone to see, or experience, their own story as they drive by. As the work consists of chapters in non-chronological order and as certain scenes are repeated, I imagine that the story will unfold over time, for each individual.
I am interested in the visual gap between high tech and the analogue, which we can see in Mehr Licht! The LED lights are recessed in moldings on the façade and, of course, the surface has a super finish, while the images that appear are low resolution and at times abstract, reminiscent of early video art. This creates a dissonance, a sort of poetry and quirkiness that I like.”
Selander has borrowed the title for her work from a quotation attributed to the scientist and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who, on his deathbed in 1832, is supposed to have said, “Mehr Licht!” (More light!), or, he could just as easily have said, “Mehr Nicht!” (No more!).
MAX IV and Lund University Start First Joint Laboratory, The European Spallation Source, MAX IV Laboratory and the Division of Nuclear Physics at Lund University.
Watch video:
https://vimeo.com/124325609 (1 minute)
https://vimeo.com/174000796 (10 minutes)
