Novemberljus - November Light

As I wrote in my last blogpost Linköping is not a dull city. November is a dark month in Sweden. The sun sets very early and even at noon it’s rays of light are weak. Later in the winter – when there is white snow on the ground – it’s not that dark anymore.

In an attempt to lighten the dark passage between autumn and winter, the municipality of Linköping last year introduced a special kind of art exhibition called Novemberljus (November Light). Then, some artists used light to create installations along the Stångå river in Linköping. The exhibition was highly praised by the inhabitants of Linköping and therefore we can see a new version of Novemberljus this year – this year it has moved from Stångån to the very centre of Linköping. Anna and I walked around watching the installations one evening. Here I show some of them. Click on the pictures to enlarge them!

My favourite is probably the glass pyramid in Trädgårdsföreningen. Inside the glass pyramid there is a restaurant. It’s a good place to have lunch in but I’ve not had the opportunity to try it in the evening when the lights are on.

In the rotunda outside the pyramid there is a light show. While music is played the floodlights are chasing each other, and kids are chasing the floodlights… I think the towers with the lights are most impressive. They are looking like creatures from The War of the Worlds or Star Wars.

Another favourite is the parking deck at the old prison. The concrete wall along Gröngatan (Green Street) is – yeah, you guessed it – green. This is the installation I appreciate the most since I pass this wall when I’m going down town. The green light makes that road funnier.

One of the most beautiful and spectacular buildings in Linköping is the city library. Since the walls almost completely are made of glass it’s hard to light them in the same way as for instance the concrete wall of the parking deck. Instead the base of the roof is lit in red and green. By coincident it’s the same colours as in the landlords – LKF’s – logotype. A couple of a year ago I was a member of the board of that company but that’s another story…

Next to the library there is an old gymnastics arena. The artist working with this building remember his own gymnastics lesions as a hell, and the flames is seen on the wall.

I’m disappointed that Domkyrkan – the Cathedral – isn’t used in a better way in this exhibition. But maybe no installation is needed. Our 12:th century cathedral is magnificent in itself.

One of my favourite cafes in Linköping is Café Berget (the Mountain Café). In the summer you can sit by the tables outside the café looking at the people passing by on the street below. Now the tables are replaced by this light installation. I think it’s very appropriate.

The installation at Radisson SAS (or Stora Hotellet – the Grand Hotel – as we native-born Linköpingsbor still want to call it) is elegant in its simplicity. The blue pillars emphasize the vertical structures of the façade.

One of the oldest buildings in Linköping is Rhyzeliusgården (often wrongly called the Monastery). If the cathedral wasn’t used to it’s potential, this installation is more successful. It looks like campfires are surrounding the building.

Rhyzeliusgården is used as a warehouse for the museum in Linköping. The museum building – radical in its functional style when it was built – is also used in Novemberljus. The entrance hall is green and the light is reflected in the pond outside. Around the corner a movie is shown on the wall.

In the museum garden there is an old dry carp pond. Now the ‘fishes’ are swimming in the ‘water’.

The installation at Repslagaregatan is different from the other. I think I read an article where the artist is describing he want to show the people in the centre of his installation.

Lilla Torget (The Small Square). Next to the tree there is a continuously changing ‘painting’. Not on this picture are the figures shown on the ground.

Novemberljus is shown until January 14 2007. If you haven’t seen the exhibition I recommend you to do that. It’s worth a trip to Linköping…

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