Constell.ation, the luminous red arches that “resembled Microsoft Paint squiggles” had flown to Amsterdam. After being presented and acclaimed at the gardens of the Palácio de Belém in Lisbon in 2013, for the Portuguese presidency’s Christmas, Constell.ation traveled to the Netherlands for the Amsterdam Light Festival, one of most renowned light festivals in Europe, famous for hallow the best lighting design installations.
Constell.ation II is a lighting installation composed by a network of nine contiguous arches materialized in red corrugated plastic tube and illuminated from its interior by red monochromatic LED, that further accentuate their colour.
As very simple architectural elements, the arches are easily adjusted to the specifics of any new environment in which they are placed, (re)creating multiple visual relations. When in Amsterdam, the arches of Constell.ation II appear almost royal, other times they refer to the city’s beautifully lit bridges or, as a result of their distinctive red color, to the ‘I Amsterdam’ city brand or even to the infamous Red Light District. Crafting unexpected paths in the Dutch garden, which is overthrown by the powerful red light in the last month of the year, Constell.ation II also necessarily invokes for the Christmas motif.
Regardless of it location, Constell.ation give to visitors the impression that upon passing through the arches, they are entering into a physical space: a space in which everything appears to be different and where time seems to stand still, creating a unexpected and inspirational experience.
Curatorship: Sarah Douglas, Rogier van der Heide, Jennifer Keesmaat, Marloes Krijnen and Cyril Zammit
Main Materials: Red corrugated tube
