Asharq Al-Awsat
Grimansa Amoros: Light Unites Us All
The “Nour of Riyadh” lit up with its artistic installation.
Asharq Al-Awsat news page of Grimanesa Amoros Amplexus light installation at Noor Art Noor Riyadh
The “Embrace” design that was shown in “Noor Al Riyadh”
The American artist of Peruvian origin Grimansa Amoros, works inspired by the inspiring cultural heritage, and the meeting of the past with the future. Its design, “AMPLEXUS” (embracing), was presented at the “Noor Riyadh 2022” festival last month.
It is distinguished by its reliance on human psychology, and the effect of a rapid lifestyle on humans.
She excels in sculpting light, so her works simulate the relationship of society with the history, technology, and architecture of cities.
She talks to Asharq Al-Awsat about communication through the human understanding of the world, and the use of the basic elements of nature (fire, water, earth, and light) to dive into human feelings, and the individual’s bond with his social environment.
It is hosted by museums, institutions and universities, to deliver lectures that empower young women, and attract artists, students and professors working in architecture, science and technology. Her works are shown in the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, and in international museums, including the German “Ludwig” Museum.
She explains what is meant by “AMPLEXUS”: “It is a light sculpture installation that embodies the global identity, designed specifically for the second edition of the (Light of Riyadh) festival to embrace the community awareness and architecture of the city, and the unbridled magic of the desert itself.”
The sunrise, sunset and desert dunes of Riyadh inspired the creation of AMPLEXUS, while reinterpreting traditional Islamic architecture in the digital age. “For me, it was also about balance,” she says. The color red may mean love and passion for some, but for others it may mean blood or something stronger.”
Peruvian-American artist Grimance Amoros
These intertwining waves of red light caught the attention of pedestrians in the “Sefarat Quarter” in the Saudi capital. Where the prominent artwork of Grimansa Amoros stood, and passers-by were stopped to take “selfie” pictures. She is pleased that his presence drew them into the heart of the public space that it embraces, and they meditated carefully on trying to deduce the ideas that inspired her to bring out this artistic installation in this way.
The work came as part of the second edition of the “Light of Riyadh” celebration, which ended last November, hosting more than 100 contemporary artists from more than 40 countries around the world, including Amoros.
The installation is composed of intertwined tubes, forming a radiant tapestry in which light flows continuously. His artist chose to design it in red, which acquires symbols that may seem contradictory across different cultures and concepts. It is – as she said above – the color of love and blood. The use of light fascinated her since her first works, and she attributes the reason for choosing the red color to her observing the sunrise and sunset during her previous visit to Riyadh: “I was charmed by the usual daily scene, while it is reflected in the sand dunes of the desert on the mainland outside the city.”
Why did she choose “AMPLEXUS” (the embrace) as the name of her artwork? If in her inspiration for the elements of the work she was taken from nature, then through the materials used in it she tried to reinterpret the distinctive symbols of traditional Islamic architecture and its decorations, in a way that may not appear clear in the output of her piece of art. The latter tends more to the style of the digital age with its luminous tubes, which opens up a wider scope for visitors to come up with different impressions and interpretations while examining them.
In most of her work, Grimansa tends to mix her compositions of light sculpture with video, sound, and lighting: “I find in mixing a rich material that reflects various human feelings, and the senses attempt to perceive the natural elements of the environment surrounding man, which is evident in my previous work (A continuous love story with the unknown); I was inspired by my sightings of the Northern Lights during my trip to Iceland. There, I realized the power of these natural light formations in the sky, and the power of light to transcend all social and geographical boundaries. Light unites us all.”
Her work in Riyadh became technically challenging, stemming from her desire to strike a balance between the materials used, the clear blending of engineering and technology elements, and the aesthetics of the piece after its completion.
With love, she talks about him: “Despite my passion for using different elements in my works, such as handmade paper fibers, transparent polycarbonate, and raw metal materials, in addition to lighting techniques, I find myself committed that all of these elements do not lead to the sacrifice of the aesthetic elements of the artistic installation.”
She continues that “AMPLEXUS”, which she was commissioned to prepare specifically for “Noor Al Riyadh”, represents a model of “installation art”: “It is a style of contemporary visual arts that relies on three-dimensional artworks, to be placed for display in public or private spaces, beside galleries and museums. , blends sculpture, the use of natural and everyday materials, and new media, such as video, audio, performance, virtual reality, and the Internet. It often aims to change the concept of the place in the location in which it was established, whether the work is temporary or permanent.
Throughout her career, Grimansa Amoros has used light as a medium to create her installations that prompt visitors to rethink elements of their cultural heritage and their communities, with all that being said in technology.
The past meets the future in her art. She began her professional career by studying psychiatry in her native Peru, before her passion for painting and sculpture pushed her to go beyond the hobby. Then, she honed her passion for maps by attending a drawing school, until she moved to continue her art studies in New York. There, she discovered new opportunities for her talent, which took her to master three-dimensional art.
Read the original full article on Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper website: click here. (Arabic only)
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