Pointes light SKALAR 360 in Amsterdam
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Once again, Christopher is utilising Robe Pointes as lightsources - 93 in total - in this new space. The installation which he calls SKALAR 360, also features 61 double-sided mirrors with perimeter rings of 180 addressable pixels which are suspended on 183 custom Kinetic Lights motorised winches.
In addition to the looped installation piece, Christopher and Kangding Ray are playing seven special related live performance shows in the same space.
SKALAR was first realised in the turbine hall of a former Berlin power station now the Kraftwerk art space, and then the same rectangular shape and dimensions were replicated for SKALAR MX which ran for five weeks in November / December at Fronton Mexico, Mexico City.
The Gashouder was one of the original buildings that Christopher earmarked as ideal to stage a SKALAR experience, with the right combination of quirkiness, funkiness and industrial history. However, its spherical shape required a completely different approach, which has resulted in this unique in-the-round presentation.
The charismatic circular chamber - now been redeveloped as an arts, cultural and leisure area - has an iron roof and was once at the hub of Amsterdam's Westergasfabriek gasworks complex powering the city’s western suburbs.
With all the mirrors in the show, they already had strong circular elements involved, but the challenge was to create a new set of circular movement and lighting patterns and sequences that would work with the specific geometry.
Five circular trusses were installed in the, radiating out from the centre - and these were fitted with varying quantities of mirrors.
Beyond these was an outside circle of 24 individually flown ladders, approximately five metres from the perimeter wall of the Gashouder, each rigged with three Pointes which appear to be floating in air in the dark. These provide the positions for hitting the mirrors and deflecting and bending the light around the room in the numerous asymmetric patterns characteristic of SKALAR’s kinetic visuals.
The three lighting totems on the floor also featured in the Berlin and Mexico versions. In Amsterdam, each is rigged with seven Pointes and positioned around the room just underneath the circle 2 overhead position.
The Pointes in Amsterdam are supplied by rental company Flashlight and all feature a special TV colour wheel with TV optimised colours like lavender, skin tones and a selection of colour corrected whites, that Christopher has morphed into the show, giving a nice contrast and evolution.
DMX data signals for the Pointes are converted from Art-Net and integrated into the custom Kinetic Lights proprietary KLC software platform controlling them and the winch movement.
The installation was completed by a technical crew from Christopher’s project company WHITEvoid, production managed by Florian Fink.
The installation opened on 10 January and runs until 5 February and is drawing massive audiences.
(Jim Evans)
