angle of god illuminates church interior with mosaic reflections

angle of god illuminates church interior with mosaic reflections
image courtesy of claudio poleschi arte contemporanea

blue and joy
chiesa di san matteo, lucca
now through september 14, 2013

the vacant structure of the church of san matteo, in lucca transforms into a luminous chromatic art installation for ‘the angle of god’ by italian art studio blue and joy. the mosaic artwork responds to the architectural characteristics of the space, using windows and vaults as a platform for the light performance. it is activated by the natural movements of the sun, which shines in various intensities into the interior of the church, depending on its location at a specific time in the day.

three vibrantly colored disks made from segmented, broken and painted glass pieces are installed on the chapel’s pavement, each one bearing a mirrored religious symbol. the emblems are attributed to major religions of the world: the star of david represents judiasm, the star and crescent is the image of islam, and a cross is depicted for christianity. as sunlight filters through the church’s rose window, it refracts off the surface of the mosaiced circles and casts kaleidoscopic projections onto the surface of the cavernous space, without the added use of any technological tools or special effects. ‘the angle of god’ is presented by  claudio poleschi arte contemporanea and prometeogallery and will be exhibited at the church until september 14th, 2013.

below is a time-lapsed video of the light installation, directed by marco manes. it shows the path of the sun, as it drifts through the space and reflects of the surface of the patterned mosaic pieces:

a silver star and crescent, the symbol of islam, surrounded by a spiraling green glass pattern
image courtesy of blue and joy

detail of one of the mosaiced disks – a blue and red glass circle surrounding a mirrored star of david
image courtesy of blue and joy

light shines over the blue star of david and red cross glass installations
image courtesy of blue and joy

visitors interact with the mosaic disks, closely examining in which ways the light reflects off their surface
image courtesy of blue and joy

the sunlight generates haunting reflections throughout the space
image courtesy of blue and joy

projections from the glass disks reflect onto the ceiling of the church in italy
image courtesy of blue and joy

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