THE LIGHTS WHICH CAN BE HEARD – LE DERNIER SON DES AURORES
SÉBASTIEN ROBERT
Installation and visual art
The Lights Which Can Be Heard – Le dernier son des aurores is a research and creation project about the sound of the aurora borealis, which has long been witnessed by various indigenous communities in the Arctic. Despite the many accounts, the Western scientific community denied their existence for decades until some hypotheses about their origin began to surface in the 1950s, but are still debated today.
Some believe that the natural VLF (Very Low Frequency) radio waves produced by the aurora borealis can be perceived in the observer/listener’s environment. Some natural elements (minerals or crystals) would act as receivers and transform the radio waves (electromagnetic) into the audible spectrum (acoustic). Without rejecting any hypothesis, it is this last one that caught Sébastien’s attention for his project.
Despite successful recordings following a three-week residence on Andøya in Norway, Sébastien realised that the VLF waves emitted by the aurora are increasingly difficult to perceive because they are more and more drowned out by artificial signals. They are therefore bound to disappear. Inspired by this unique context, and in the continuity of his previous work, Sébastien is currently developing a body of work around this research, which will allow the audience to perceive the sounds of the aurora borealis while preserving them in light.
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Artist
László Zsolt Bordos
László Zsolt Bordos is a Hungarian artist born in Brașov, Transylvania (Romania), in 1977. He moved to Hungary in 1997, where he studied at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest and then, thanks to a scholarship, at the MediaLab at the UIAH (University of Art and Design) in Helsinki. He has been working with video projectors since 2000. Recognized as one of the pioneers of the genre, he made a name for himself with his early 3D VJing performances (2000–2004), his innovative projections (2005–2006), and his 3D mapping works created since 2007. Having participated in numerous art exhibitions and festivals, he has presented his work in more than 40 countries, including the Mapping Festival in Geneva, Glow Eindhoven, Signal Prague, Lux Helsinki, Filux Mexico, Ars Electronica Linz, ZKM Karlsruhe, and the Adelaide Festival of the Arts. Bordos’s areas of interest include object mapping, architectural projections, and set projections for theater and opera, and he is involved in projects with MŰPA (Hungarian Palace of Arts), the Semperoper in Dresden, the Dijon Opera, and the Barbican Centre in London.
Bordos has launched several projects, such as: the first video mapping contest in the world (held in Budapest in 2010), ALO – Art of Light Organization (2020), the Manifesto of Light Art (2021), the Light Art course at MOME —the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest (since 2021), co-founder and president of LIGHTHOUSE – the Association of Hungarian Light Artists (between 2021 and 2023), initiator and co-founder of LAM – the BudapestMuseum of Light Art (2022), co-organizer of the biennial symposia on light in Hungary (since 2023), member of the John von Neumann Computer Society ( since 2024) , co-chair of the International Kepes Society (since 2024).
Credits & mentions
Originally commissioned by STRP Festival
Creation realized in coproduction with the platform CHRONIQUES CREATIONS, supported by the DRAC Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the Région Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the City of Marseille and the French Institute in Paris
With the financial support of Stroom Den Haag, DICRéAM, Fonds [SCAN] Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
With the intellectual support of The Royal Library of the Netherlands, The Tromsø Geophysical Observatory, Fiona Armery (University of Cambridge), Rob Stammes (Polarlightcenter), Harald Gaski (University of Tromsø ), Hans Ragnar Mathisen and Matti Aikio
With the technical support of Lucien Nicou (design + production), Leandros Ntolas (light + optics), Pim Kerssemakers (metalwork), Mark IJzerman (TouchDesigner) and Zois Loumakis (hardware + software)
Under the artistic supervision of Jean-Emmanuel Rosnet
Initiated during the Arctic Wave residency (Andøya, NO)
Partner: Les Méjanes – Bibliothèque et Archives Michel Vovelle
