Savage Beauty goes digital as stunning project falls to Covid-19
Even the video version shows how spectacular it should have been – but one of the key events on Galway 2020’s calendar joins the long list of attractions to fall foul of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, Savage Beauty, the spectacular art experience created by Finnish light artist Kari Kola, can only be seen online instead of in person .
The artwork transformed a picturesque section of Connemara’s mountains into a blaze of colour and light in the largest site-specific light artwork ever created.
Initially planned as a public event last weekend, that was wiped out by Covid-19 – but all is not lost, as Galway 2020 opted to make Savage Beauty available as a special digital edition.
The title comes from Oscar Wilde’s description of Connemara as “a savage beauty” – and Kari Kola’s installation of 1,000 lights spread over a distance of five kilometres, transformed the mountains in a wash of vibrant pulsating colours.
It’s the latest massive scale undertaking for a man who has directed over 2,000 projects in dramatic settings – including the opening ceremony of the Year of Light on the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (2015), and Stonehenge (2018).
“Since I can’t paint, I paint with light,” he said.
See more of these spectacular images in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops….or order with your online grocery delivery.