Light Is Both Cause and Path

Answers to questions from SVĚTLO (Light) magazine, July 2024.

You work with light, and you devote attention to it in your educational and awareness-raising activities; you probably deal with it even at times when natural light is plentiful. Are you already preparing this year’s Christmas?

With a touch of exaggeration, light is both cause and path, and in that sense we ought to take care of it. We should look after that good source and extend its further use sensitively and with respect for the environment, because we cannot stop the dynamics of life. We can balance it and, in a way, skilfully place emerging opportunities into new contexts. Of course, preparations for Christmas today begin not only after Christmas; some projects require preparation of more than a year, especially given the current state of raw materials and logistics. But we are increasingly extending our activities to longer periods, not just Christmas, and we are even considering year-round use, especially in the case of light exhibitions.

Could you explain a little what a light exhibition is and how it actually came about? Were you inspired by anything from around the world?

As the world changes, and instead of going to a single shop we go to large shopping centres, so today we use festive and Christmas light not only to illuminate a tree, but whole towns and ever larger spaces. Light has become a significant architectural element and completes the space of our homes and public places. It is a logical, natural process that corresponds to many others, in other fields too. For several years we had been holding gatherings with partners and friends at our place, in the Vánoční dvůr (Christmas Courtyard) in Dobrovíz, and over time ever more elaborate scenography naturally emerged. Incidentally, decorating some shopping centres with a lavish story tested us, so we told ourselves that we could try to spread the joy in a larger space. That is how Lights Tell Stories (Světla vyprávějí) came into being, and this year they will be telling stories in many countries of Europe, from Košice to the Atlantic and from Dublin to the Adriatic Sea.

Is it possible to create a theme for so many places, or do you adapt existing stories? How demanding is it to arrange such an exhibition, especially in another country?

We try to be original and we do not borrow other stories. Indeed, we receive enquiries for our exhibitions for precisely this reason, because we want to preserve richness of content within a simple form. I mean in terms of colour: we prefer white only, except where technological processes use a change of colour to communicate something specific. This year I would like us not only to tell stories and connect with light, but also to bring the individual places closer together through a fairy-tale character who has yet to be born and who will be a guide through time and space. Of course, arranging exhibitions abroad is demanding in every respect, from administration to the final realisation. In addition to experience of cultural differences, there is also practical experience of various approaches and attitudes.

Which exhibition would you recommend, or rather, how many light exhibitions are you preparing, for example in the Czech Republic?

That is very hard to say. Each one will be different in theme, so in their own way they are all interesting in some respect or for some reason. A smaller chateau setting may suit one person, while another would rather set off to see a futuristic story in Ostrava… For me, each one is a little like my own child. I look forward to the universe and to life in a castle, to a light opera or a glimpse into the future, and I enjoy thinking through further connections, which is why I am also looking forward to Christmas with Sisi at Gödöllő in Hungary, for example. I hope the exhibition about space, which we are preparing in partnership with astronomers, will also be remarkable, and that we will succeed in conveying interesting information in a playful and entertaining way and in making interactive use of some of the findings. Otherwise we are still negotiating installations, but overall there should be around 10–15 light exhibitions in this country or just across the border, and at least another 10 abroad.

Do you encounter any barriers in the form of concerns about light pollution, or in how such light projects are perceived in general?

In conversations with lighting specialists and astronomers whom I met through my podcasts, a kind of consensus was found: to shine well. Yes, as with all tools, light can be handled in the right way too, and most of the professional community understands that. I must say that our partners understand it in the same way; demand is great. Of course, light too can become politicised, like anything else in the world. But fortunately the desire prevails to use, for example, an abandoned space for a new purpose, not only economic but creative and social. After Covid we live in a kind of readiness to keep outdoor space for possible gatherings. (A good mood in society should also belong to the sphere of care of our politicians. Not to provide it, but not to squander it, even if only hypocritically. I am glad that many in local politics are aware of these connections.) I am delighted by interest from all over the world, not merely for the sake of securing another exhibition, but for our way of perceiving things and indeed our way of producing them. It is precisely this appreciation of a sensitive placement within the environment that is the greatest challenge for us.