Colors of the times inspire SNFCC light installations

What color is the joy of Christmas? The sadness of the pandemic and grief for its victims? With those emotions running rampant these days, Peru’s Renzo B. Larriviere and Australia’s Simone Chua of the renowned lighting design firm Amigo & Amigo have translated feelings into colors with the installation “Parabolic Light Cloud” at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) on Athens’ southern coast.

The artists were inspired by the Fibonacci sequence to create a parabolic installation of 1,000 lights whose color combinations are aimed at expressing different powerful emotions. The installation is on display at the Dome of the SNFCC’s Labyrinth, and was unveiled on Tuesday during the grand launch of the park’s annual holiday light show.

Legends, myths and all sorts of fantastical tales of wonder, meanwhile, are the inspiration behind “Moon Garden” on the Great Lawn. Its huge spheres glow with different colors and intensity, creating shadows that tell a story that unfolds as visitors walk among them, employing a technique based on shadow theater and an ancient Indian artform.

The towers that make up “Halo” in the Pine Grove stem from the semi-acoustic, semi-automatic, multiplayer musical sculpture invented by the United Kingdom’s Michael Davis, “Illumaphonium.” The light rings around the towers respond to human presence or touch (make sure to sanitize your hands afterward), with harmonies of music and light.

Local team Berforelight, meanwhile, has set up its installation along the path leading up to the Lighthouse. The passage of pedestrians triggers rotating beacons set in the shrubbery, which create a constantly changing audial landscape.

As a result of coronavirus-related restrictions, of course, all of these delights can only be enjoyed this year by people who live close to the SNFCC and use the park to exercise.

The lighting installations will remain in place until January 6 and are lit up between 5 and 9 p.m.