The Lumo Light Festival, organised by the City of Oulu, will once again light up the city from November 21 to 23. This year’s programme has an exceptionally international flavour, with a total of 10 works created by artists from across Europe. In addition to Finland, artists are coming from France, Italy, Belgium, Catalonia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Latvia. Lumo received over 150 applications from 30 different countries in its call for entries at the beginning of the year.
The trail of installations is finding new avenues by spreading to the islands surrounding the Oulu city centre. The festival works emphasise the themes of human-centredness and diversity of perspectives. The works engage in dialogue with each other through physical distance and thematic similarities.
Natalie Maufroy’s (Belgium) work is projected onto the façade of the LähiTapiola office building. It is an urban fresco for the dark hours, in which giant hands touch the grey concrete as if trying to reach the outside world fingertip by fingertip, exploring the smallest details of its architecture.
The rear façade of the City Hall is taken over by Dutch artist Katja Heitmann’s PERPETUUM, an immersive video installation to which more than 2,000 people have contributed their personal movements.
Two circular works face each other on the shores of Linnansaari and Raatinsaari islands. Italian artist Hermes Mangialardo’s OCULUCIS consists of two enigmatic, floating eyes that invite the viewer to ask what it really means to see. Czech Metanoia Creatives brings a 360-degree projection entitled THE FIFTH ELEMENT to the Raatti marina, highlighting the basic elements of water, fire, air, earth, and the mystical ether, which have been recognised in Western culture since ancient times.
The full programme for the Lumo Light Festival will be published on October 31 on the Lumo Festival website.