I have waited months to see this exhibition and it finally opened on Thursday! The Light Show explores how we experience and psychologically respond to illumination and colour. It showcases works from contemporary artists but also from the 60’s, when they began to experiment with the visual and sensory effects of artificial light and science and technology  were combined to create art.

Natural lighting plays an important roll on our mood and health even, it is no secret that sunny weather makes us happier and energised so, it is very interesting when artists experiment with artificial light with the intention of transporting the viewer to another place or create an optical illusion to play with our state of mind .

I analysed  how each installation made me feel rather than focusing on the meaning or  intention the artist wished to communicate. I was mesmerised, in a different dimension of a spacial nature but also magic and fantasy kept popping in my mind. Some installations made me feel calm and happy, others extremely peaceful and almost in a trance waiting to enter a tunnel that would take me to the other side.

All the 25 works on show are fantastic but my favourite are Jim Campbell, Exploded View (2011), Olafur Eliasson, Model for a lifetime garden (2011), Leo Villareal, Cylinder ll (2012) and Doug Wheeler, Untitled (1969). There is a little description of each of them below with the pictures.

What you see and feel at the exhibition is very subjective and personal, in my case I associated the conceptual artwork to a surreal world, a fantasy movie or a parallel universe to escape from the dull and boring. While observing each installation you have to let yourself go and your imagination take over, it is a great experience.

Visitors are only allowed to take photos in three rooms but the exhibition really deserved a great post on my blog and well, images say more than words, and although I got told off a few times I managed to get some really good shots.

The Light Show is on at the Hayward Gallery until 28 April and everyone should go to see it, it really is dazzling!

Cylinder ll (2012) features light and movement, composed by complex computer programming, creating endlessly changing patterns and shapes, the intensity of the lights change constantly and at times it looked like fireworks, falling stars and all sort of beautiful glowing phenomenon you can imagine.

Untitled (1969) consists of a room in which a large light-encased square appears to float freely in space. This room made me feel so serene , it was as if by walking through this giant square of light I’d be entering an unknown dimension.

She combined artificial fog with beams of light projected by powerful spotlights , revealing a luminous star in which light seems to solidify.

Exploded View (2011) More than a thousands LED bulbs in a rectangle shape suspended in the middle of a room that randomly blink on and off giving the impression of shadowy figures that dissolve and resolve. The lights were beautiful and gave the illusion of men’s legs walking through this glowing rectangle.

Model for a lifetime garden (2011) She is the artist who created The Weather Project in 2003, this installation consisted of a succession of 27 fountains under flashing stroboscopic lamps, the effect is an ever changing landscape of icy festoons and crystal garlands. It looked like a diamonds explosion and it was beautiful, although after a while the constant flashing lights made me feel a bit disorientated.