GTBT Start Introduction Itinary Outro
In an indirect and yet allusive way, Eelco Wagenaar realised a hommage to a core experience of Olkhon island: that of eternal sunshine. Olkhon is a part of Buryatia, one of the most southern regions in central Siberia which has a special feature: the fact that here the sun is shining for 365 days in the year. The Dutch artist realised an action with the help of others, in which the natural light coming into one of the brighter DAI-spaces was transported to the project room through mirrors. The artist had done a similar action at Olkhon, where people standing in a circle held mirrors with which they passed on sunlight to each other, creating a circle of light. The circuit that he needed at the DAI to accomplish the piece was different, yet the piece had the same visual clarity. Simple and magic at the time, it radiated a euphoric joy. The artist writes:
'One of my main research points in this action, was the interaction between the participating artists. A group of people had to create a stable network/connection of passing on the reflection of the sun onto the mirror of the next person. Only in this way an outcome could be obtained: on Olchon a closed circle and star shape and at the DAI the direct projection of the sun on the wall of the project room (a room where daylight never enters and mostly work of students is theorized and not practiced). While holding the mirror, because of body movements (through breathing etc.) the constellation is not completely stable. Once the constellation is established, it's like a loop, a chain of people where everybody is as important as the other in passing through the reflection.
To direct sunlight via Hilly's office in the DAI project room is a gift to the DAI-students (and of course to all the other people related and co-operating with the DAI), because the work places the room in a different context and connects it to the outside world.
And, the immateriality of using sunlight is connected to the human interaction.' *
