An exhibition called: “Power! Light!” at the Kunstmuseum in Wolfsburg, Germany, will explore the political dimension of light art. It will be held until July 10 and will feature around eighty works, by more than 65 internationally renowned artists. Here is what you need to know about this unmissable event.

An Exhibition offering Political, Social, Ecological, and Manipulative Statements
If you have never seen an exhibition of light art, this is an event you have to attend. Light is life, and you understand the meaning of it, at a deeper level, when you come face to face with such masterpieces. What artists such as Monica Bonvicini, Olafur Eliasson, Joseph Beuys, Christian Boltanski and Cerith Wyn evans can do with light, will literally “enlighten” you on its power. This thematic exhibition is rare, as usually such displays of art light are normally about the use of electric light in general. That is not the case here, as all pieces have been chosen because of their political, social, ecological, or manipulative statements.

To create with electric lighting is very different than with paints or pencils. The statement is usually clearer, simpler and bolder. When you walk through the penumbra of the museum, and face each work of art, it permeates you. That is the power of neon light, in particular. It enters into everything it touches, transforming the appearance of individuals and objects around them. If that is something that makes you dream and sends you into a creative mode, then you have to try and custom your neon sign with Yellow Pop.

Emphasizing the Importance of Light
It is something we often forget, but light is as much part of our lives, as the air we breathe. In fact, the print presentation of the exhibition says so much. We open and close lights without ever really thinking about what we are doing. We do so, simply because it has to be. Where there isn’t light, there isn’t life. It is true for natural sunlight, feeding us, the animals and the plants, but also of electric light, enabling us to continue living, once it gets dark outside.

But light also has its dark side. We all know what is light pollution and how we can all waste energy uselessly, by keeping the lights on, in rooms where we are not. But light does more than that. It can also be used to exercise power by having it cut off. It can also serve to keep someone in full light, in order to monitor them. It helps to manipulate and destroy and also excludes individuals from a circle. These are all elements that this exhibition wishes to bring to the front of people’s mind. And it does so by showing us how we can be manipulated by advertising, but also from today’s fake news.

Light is everywhere. And when it isn’t, it leaves us in the dark, in many more ways than we can think of, in one second. Visiting “Power! Light!” at the Kunstmuseum in Wolfsburg, will be an experience you will not hide in dark corners of your mind, any time soon.