Hello everyone! Hope you’ve had a fantastic winter break and started 2021 on a good note. My winter break was spent mostly in Linkoping and I love how our city gets decked up for the season. With all the Christmas trees, the decorated streets, and the occasional snow, it’s as Christmas-y as one can hope for. One of the special events that is scheduled for this period is this exhibition called ‘Vinterljus’ or Winter Lights. Linkoping first hosted the lights in 2005 where it was called Novemberljus before being renamed Vinterljus in 2009. It opens around mid-December and goes on till the first week of January following a unique theme each year. The theme followed for 2020 was “Elementen” representing the various elements like water, fire, light, etc., with 13 installations by artists from all over Europe.
This year’s exhibition started at Skylten’s courtyard, right behind Linkoping resecentrum, with an installation called I-glow. The structure was shaped like an igloo but with hollowed out triangles to give us this illusion of snowflakes from afar. The next installation was called Ledtråden, which represented the elements of air and water. Lights under the Gumpekullabron bridge reflecting off the flowing water made for a cool sight from afar.
Installation #3 was a rather cool one called ‘Den Stora Fabriken’. It was a video projected on to the wall of the thermal power station. The animated video is the artists imagination of the ongoings on the other side of the factory wall.
The next installation was again a video projected on to Linkoping’s hot water storage tank. The artists had portrayed the life within one of the rooms in the silo. Across from the silo was the next attraction called TETRA. Tube lights interspersed with each other in a tetrahedral format, with lights synced to music. We spent most of out time here with the music keeping us engrossed and trying to follow the patterns created.
Continuing on to the next installation, we were greeted by a couple of cheerful volunteers who were really helpful in guiding us to the next installation called Gensvar. This was a glass bridge which would only completely light up if there are people standing on either sides of it. This installation was trying to showcase the distance created by modern communication. The 7th installation was unfortunately washed away by the water.
We headed to installation 8 by Tekniska Verken. They showcased the four elements of light, heat, water and wind by lighting up one of their offices in various colours. The waterfall at Kinda Kanal was the canvas for installation 9 where laser beam patterns danced over the flowing waters. One of my friends felt the reflections on the water mimicked the northern lights that one gets to see up North.
The iceberg installation was a few minutes away, close to SAAB arena. This was a stunning audio and visual treat with each arch symbolising the cracks formed on an iceberg as the ice starts melting. Tullbron was the site for the next installation. The lights installed under the bridge reflecting on the calm waters underneath made for a symmetric visual treat.
Some of these installations will remain as permanent fixtures around Linkoping. Now there’s your reason to go on that evening walk you’ve been putting off.
