Savage Beauty, an online art experience created by Finnish light artist Kari Kola, has transformed Ireland’s Connemara mountains in a spectacular display of colour and light.
Kari Kola’s installation of 1,000 lights transforms a 5 kilometre-stretch of the mountain range in County Galway in a wash of vibrant pulsating colours, in what has been heralded by exhibition organisers, Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, as “the largest site-specific light artwork ever created”.
The display was initially planned as a live exhibition for people to experience the light and colour show in the Connemara setting itself to coincide with St Patrick’s Day celebrations between 14-17 Match, however the live events were cancelled following government guidance on public gatherings due to Covid-19 virus.
Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture has now made the Savage Beauty artwork available as a special digital edition via their website.
Connemara National Park situated in the scenic west coast of Ireland spans for nearly 3,000 hectares. The park offers some majestic views which includes picturesque mountains, expanses of bog lands, heaths, grasslands and woodlands. Some of these mountains form part of the famous Twelve Bens group of small mountains that are the dominant feature of the Connemara countryside.
The light show, entitled Savage Beauty, takes its name from the Irish playwright and poet, Oscar Wilde, who described Connemara as a “savage beauty”.
Artist Kari Kola, who has directed over 2,000 projects in dramatic settings including Stonehenge in 2018, said: “Since I can’t paint, I paint with light. I’m also interested in light beyond its artistic value. Everything on the planet is based on light. I’m working with scientific projects and new, futuristic techniques. With abstract light, there are as many stories as there are viewers. If I can choose, I always work with nature because that’s the best art that we have.
“I am very disappointed that the public exhibition of this work had to be cancelled, but I hope that this digital edition will show how we played with scale in Connemara and created something that people would not expect.”
Image Credit: Christopher Lund
Rosa Medea is Life & Soul Magazine’s Chief. She writes about lifestyle including sustainable and green living. She also offers content services to businesses and individuals at Rosamedea.com
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