i Light Singapore, Asia’s leading sustainable light festival, will be back to light up Marina Bay from 3 to 26 June 2022 with 20 captivating light art installations that aim to spark fresh perspectives on the environment and world around us.
Organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and presented by DBS, the Festival will also offer an exciting line-up of programmes that will add to the vibrancy of the precinct while encouraging conversations on sustainability.
Curated to the theme Spark of Light, the 20 artworks by artists from 14 countries took inspiration from the colour violet, which has the shortest wavelength and most powerful electromagnetic energy in the visible light spectrum and signifies the awakening of senses akin to the spark of an idea in one’s mind.
One highlight is MOTHEREARTH ClimateChange Data Sculpture by Turkish new media studio Ouchhh. Presented in partnership with Marina Bay Sands, a video projection on the façade of ArtScience Museum will transform publicly available environmental data, such as those obtained from local weather recordings, into a stunning visual treat comprising moving lights, colours and sounds. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, the artwork turns data into an enjoyable sensory experience, while drawing attention to climate change issues.
The Festival will also spotlight artworks that explore environmental challenges the world is facing. For instance, Plastic Whale by Craig Neo from Singapore, and Feng Qiao, Liao Qingshuang and Li Jianwen from China, features an inflatable whale filled with recyclable plastic bottles and scraps, breathing in distress.
The artwork highlights the plight of marine creatures that are struggling to survive in their increasingly polluted homes. Meanwhile, Underworld by Aleksandra Stratimirovic from Sweden and Leonel Kaplan from Argentina depicts an imaginary undersea settlement with giant lanterns made of discarded fishing nets. Against the backdrop of a soundscape featuring haunting echoes of the sea, the artwork calls attention to the fragility of our marine ecosystem.
Besides spotlighting environmental issues, the artworks will transform familiar public spaces at Marina Bay and Esplanade Park into dazzling landscapes. Visitors can look forward to Firefly Field by Studio Toer from the Netherlands, featuring a mesmerising display of 500 flying and blinking lights that will illuminate The Promontory at Marina Bay. These lights mimic humble fireflies, known for their ever-changing bioluminescence and movement at night.
Taking its spot in front of the Red Dot Design Museum, Light Canvas by local artist group Trial & Error invites visitors to experience an exchange of energy by temporarily “painting” their own artworks on a digital canvas using flashlights from their mobile phones. The installation aims to raise a series of contemplative questions: “Is the short-lived nature of what we do worth the energy expended?
What is the cost of our actions on the environment and what are we willing to give up for a more sustainable future?” The installation will also host a series of performances featuring dancers, calligraphers, illustrators and florists, who will interact with the installation creatively and leave their mark on the canvas.
The Festival will also showcase four student artworks, including Re-Act by Isabella Meo and Liang TaiLin from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Architecture, which was one of the artworks selected from the i Light Student Closed Call held last year.
The installation will feature a series of lights simulating water pollutants such as toxic dyes and untreated sewage trickling down the Queen Elizabeth Walk waterfront steps, to prompt visitors to reflect on the ways humans are polluting water systems. Additionally, the lighting design symbolises cracks of collapsing icebergs caused by climate change, and seeks to instil in visitors a sense of urgency in battling global water pollution and rising sea levels
i Light Singapore 2022 will also feature Waste Not Want Not, presented by the Festival’s presenting sponsor DBS. This eye-catching installation by local art collective, Tell Your Children, will feature four larger-than-life inflatable sculptures of fruits and vegetables commonly found in our homes, but with a stylised twist.
Depicting “ugly” food – which is in no way lacking in nutrition or taste, yet often ends up discarded as waste in the bins – this artwork challenges these stereotypes and prompts the question: “What makes food beautiful?” It implores visitors to look beyond the surface, rethink their choices, and consume more consciously in a world where food waste is a perennial and worsening problem.
The artwork installation is in line with DBS’ Towards Zero Food Waste initiative, which aims to galvanise multiple stakeholders into action towards zero food waste. Its efforts have generated more than 800,000 kg of food impact across Asia since the initiative was launched in 2020.
The Festival will be held from 7.30pm to 11pm daily with extended hours to 12am on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is free, while charges apply for certain programmes.
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