From celestial inspirations to cutting-edge innovation, Editor, Suzette Bell-Roberts explores how the world’s largest light art festival transforms Riyadh into a luminous canvas of creativity.
United Visual Artists, Aether. Courtesy of Noor Riyadh.
Launched in March 2021, Noor Riyadh offers a unique opportunity to experience an extraordinary collection of light artworks from international artists, all displayed in one place simultaneously. As the world’s largest citywide annual light art festival, it showcases an impressive array of top-tier works from international and Saudi artists across the most expansive city footprint of any global light art festival. The 2024 edition of Noor Riyadh takes place across three iconic hubs—King Abdulaziz Historical Center, Wadi Hanifah, and the JAX District—bringing together 18 Saudi artists and 43 international artists from 18 countries, including Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom. This global collaboration highlights the festival’s commitment to cultural exchange and celebrates diverse creative perspectives, making it a vibrant and inclusive showcase of light art.
Light Years Apart, the theme of Noor Riyadh 2024, delves into the profound connection between Althara (the Earth) and Althuraya (the Sky), exploring the transformative journey from our current realities to our loftiest aspirations. Inspired by the symbolic Thuraya star cluster—a celestial guide and source of inspiration—the theme underscores the unifying power of creativity and ambition in bridging vast physical or metaphorical divides. Curated by Dr. Effat Fadag and Dr. Alfredo Cramerotti, the festival showcases 62 large-scale artworks that merge the physical and metaphysical realms, inviting audiences to reflect on the interplay between tradition and modernity. Through captivating sculptural installations, immersive experiences, and cutting-edge projection mapping, Noor Riyadh 2024 transforms the city into a luminous canvas, fostering a dynamic dialogue between art and technology and illuminating the boundless potential of human imagination.
The festival’s opening event commenced at the King Abdulaziz Historical Centre with Aether, a breathtaking drone show by United Visual Artists that transformed the city sky into a radiant canvas. This mesmerising 7-minute performance, featuring 1,500 drones, drew inspiration from ancient concepts of unseen forces shaping our world. The drones formed intricate patterns resembling a light fabric, symbolising the delicate balance between order and chaos. Blending light, sound, and movement, the show invited audiences to contemplate the beauty of the unseen and the silent harmony of the cosmos.
The landmark work by Rashed Al Shashai, The Fifth Pyramid, captivated crowds as they walked through its illuminated red corridor within the towering installation, which glows with a blend of pink and green hues.
Rashed Al Shashai, The Fifth Pyramid. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Projected onto a towering rock wall, Yann Nguema’s The Well of Life brings light and motion to life through mesmerising projection mapping. Inspired by growth algorithms in data science, the abstract organism’s life cycle unfolds in a seamless loop, inviting viewers to reflect on the rhythms of existence and the delicate balance that sustains life.
Yann Nguema, The Well of Life. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Refik Anadol’s Coral Dreams is an AI data sculpture that brings coral reefs to life through nearly 100 million raw images transformed into fluid, dynamic visuals. This immersive digital ocean captures marine ecosystems’ vibrant beauty and fragile state, celebrating their splendour while urging action to protect these vital wonders.
Refik Anadol, Coral Dreams. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Chairwave by VOUW turns sitting into a social adventure. This playful installation features kinetic chairs inspired by the sleek simplicity of Gerrit Rietveld’s Zig-Zag chair. Armed with automatic sensors, the chairs beckon visitors to take a seat and spark a chat, transforming public spaces into hubs of spontaneous connection.
VOUW, Chairwave. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Janez Grošelj’s Alchemy of Atmospheres is a spellbinding multi-sensory installation that envisions the future of Earth’s atmosphere while reflecting on pressing environmental challenges. High-intensity bolts of light, mimicking the raw power of lightning, recreate Venus’s atmosphere’s dense, storm-laden conditions. This electrifying display invites viewers to confront the fragility of our planet and ponder the potential trajectory of Earth’s environment, blending science and artistry into a vivid, cautionary spectacle.
Janez Grošelj, Alchemy of Atmospheres. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
The following outdoor installations at Wadi Hanifah, a historical natural landmark in Riyadh, are stunning backdrops for artworks that delve into the intricate relationship between humans and nature while emphasising environmental values. This site, renowned for its award-winning environmental rehabilitation, is a testament to sustainable innovation. Featured artists, including Saad Al Howede, Saeed Gamhawi, Daan Roosegaarde, Kimchi and Chips, and Stanza, bring these themes to life through thought-provoking installations that celebrate the harmony and tension between humanity and the natural world.
A newly commissioned installation, Lachlan Turczan’s Aldwa Alsael (Arabic for Liquid Light), is inspired by the wadis of Saudi Arabia. Three beams of light stretch across Wadi Hanifah, brought to life through water vapour, inviting viewers to reflect on the deep interconnectedness of the natural world.
Lachlan Turczan, Aldwa Alsael. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Atelier Sisu’s Evanescent is a fun and thought-provoking public art piece inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and the little moments we often overlook. The installation features giant bubble structures that invite us to reflect on life’s fragility, reminding us how easily things can change.
Atelier Sisu, Evanescent. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Stanza’s Out of Breath: A-Life Support Machine is profoundly emotional, evoking a sense of urgency and compassion. The audiovisual installation brings to light the devastating impact of air pollution on nature and urban life. Through the lens of eco-visualisation, the artwork uses software to map global pollutant levels onto a tree, its branches gasping for air, struggling to survive. It’s a moving reminder of how interconnected we are with the Earth and how our actions are choking the very life we rely on.
Stanza, Out of Breath: A-Life Support Machine. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Solar Dust by Quiet Ensemble is an immersive audiovisual installation that uses light to transform its surroundings into a celestial realm. The artwork draws inspiration from dust particles found in space and highlights the crucial yet often overlooked role of these near-invisible specks in shaping our environment and cosmic phenomena.
Quiet Ensemble, Solar Dust. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Chris Levine’s Light is Love is a playful and immersive installation that messes with your perception in the best way possible! Using a cool LED imaging trick called a ‘blipvert,’ Levine projects the word ‘love’ right into your peripheral vision, creating a subtle yet magical experience. Based on his popular series of the same name, this new version invites you to pause, reflect, and escape the everyday chaos, reminding you that love is always in the background, just waiting to be noticed.
Chris Levine, Light is Love. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
JAX District is the third venue for the festival. A vibrant fusion of industrial history and modern creativity, the area has transformed into a dynamic hub, with historic buildings now home to artists, creative industries, and artistic events. Works by artists such as Ayman Yossri Daydban, JR and Boris Acket showcase this fusion of innovation and tradition, enhancing the connection between the past and present in art.
Nawaf Al Dohan’s Sukoon (Arabic for peace) is a retro-inspired, interactive projection that reflects Riyadh’s live weather changes. Drawing inspiration from the city’s natural and urban landscapes, this newly commissioned artwork responds to visitors’ movements in real-time, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the city’s ever-changing landscape.
Nawaf Al Dohan, Sukoon. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Vincent Ruijters presents a kinetic installation entitled Selintas Selalu. This installation uses light, shadow, and fabric to explore identity and displacement. Inspired by his Chinese-Indonesian heritage, the artwork blends cultural motifs that reflect the fluid nature of cultural heritage. As the fabric shifts, it prompts reflection on how migration and ancestral roots shape personal and collective identities, inviting viewers to consider the complexities of belonging and transformation.
Vincent Ruijters, Selintas Selalu. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Another kinetic art installation by Collectif Scale, Flux, is inspired by the dynamism and geometry of nature. The structure, consisting of 48 strips of light arranged in a circle, moves at varying speeds, sometimes slowly and at other times in a frenzy, creating poetic light trails.
Collectif Scale, Flux. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
The audiovisual installation by TUNDRA, ROW, uses LED holographic fans to visualise sound innovatively. Inspired by the row as a fundamental method for structuring information, the artwork attempts to translate audio data into a dynamic linear sculpture by merging light, sound, and space.
TUNDRA, ROW. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Yusef Alahmad’s Metamorphosis is an animated artwork that brings change to life through vibrant geometric shapes and patterns. Drawing inspiration from Najdi architecture and the decorated doors of Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, this newly commissioned piece merges tradition with transformation, offering a dynamic reflection of cultural heritage.
Yusef Alahmad, Metamorphosis. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
Stain-Rainbow Forest, a sculptural light installation by Jiyen Lee, was created using 3D printing and nano-pattern replication technology. The structures are composed of spinning discs with unique nanofilm imprints and cast rainbow-like reflections across the exhibition space. The immersive experiential artwork invites the viewer to find beauty imperfections.
Jiyen Lee, Stain-Rainbow Forest. Courtesy of Suzette Bell-Roberts.
The expansive exhibition requires time and contemplation to digest the sometimes overwhelming experience and sensory overload. Seeing all the works displayed and installed as the artists wanted and envisioned was a privilege.
Noor Riyadh runs from the 28th November to 14th December 2024. For more information, please visit Noor Riyadh.
