Castel, Contemporary Art Center La Chapelle, Clairefontaine (Yvelines, France)

2020 A light & immersive, site specific artwork

Motionless lines of light developed according to three different patterns: in linear fashion, in isolation or gradually, along a journey that led to a staircase with two landings. These fluorescent works emitted precise and varied wavelengths, sometimes in pairs of complementary colours. Modifying the natural light coming in through the windows from the park, large filters reflected their own chromatic essence and flooded the two tiers connected by the stairs.

Both extremes of the spectrum were represented: dark indigo and deep red. The space and the air were filled with a chromatic effect with a wavelength of 400 nanometres corresponding to a deep indigo-violet that made the air seem to shimmer. It filtered and purified, like a kind of synthetic biology. In contrast to this wavelength, almost invisible, a 780-nanometre red light, almost infra-red, brought its own chromatism and synergy. Between these two immersive wavelengths, a new energy filled the space of the installation on the stairs.

The fluorescent lights contain a mixture of argon and low-pressure mercury vapour in tiny quantities. The ionisation of this gaseous mixture, under the effect of an electrical discharge, generates rays in the ultra-violet range that are invisible but highly energetic. This initial radiance is then transformed into  visible light: that of the lines of fluorescent tubes in each system. An atmosphere is like an ocean of air.

185 m2. Colour gel, fluorescent tubes & colour gel