Novae illustrates celestial phenomena and draws a timeless landscape. The light depicts a space with shifting boundaries, inhabited by hundreds of stars in constant evolution. Light pulses gradually evolve and draw trajectories in the air. A feeling of well-being and eternity emanates from these stars that observe us.

Our relationship with celestial bodies oscillates between science and belief. The rotation of days and nights, the phases of the Moon or the position of the planets, these observations have always served to mark stages in the course of time. Some cultures and traditions also credit them with a supernatural influence on our lives. In any case, the temporality, force and distances that rule these phenomena transcend human perception. 

The permanence of firmament is but an illusion. As astronomers have discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, stars are born, evolve and die. The stars we see from Earth today may have been extinct for millions of years, given their distance and the speed at which their lights travel. Others are invisible to our eyes, as they are too young for their radiation to have reached us. 

By looking at the sky, we contemplate the past.

Looking at Novae, visitors contemplate the sky as it was on the evening of the exhibition opening.

Tests échelle 1:1 de différentes types de projecteurs et d’un miroir ovale.

Details

Dimensions: 7.5×7.5x6m
Medium: Automated light, haze machine, ultra-directional speakers, loud speakers, computer.
Authors: Nicolas Guichard & Béatrice Lartigue – Lab212
Voice & text: Poet Prince Badr bin Abdolmohsen Al Saud
Music: Simon Doury
Light consultant: Mathieu Cabanes
Sound system consultant: Baptiste Pohoski
Curation: Marnie Benney & Alia Ahmad Alsaud
Exhibition Scenography: Badr Zabarah

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