Month: November 2024

Visitors to the LiGHT 24 exhibition have the unique opportunity to view the never-before-seen, exclusively created art installation ‘Intra-spectrum’ by accomplished artist Frankie Boyle, powered by leading architectural lighting manufacturer formalighting.

Frankie Boyle is a renowned Experiential Creative Director and Artist specialising in immersive and experiential design, with a profound focus on light and colour theory. With over a decade of experience in the event and lighting industries, she is recognised for crafting innovative installations and experiences that guide audiences through transformative emotional journeys.

Frankie’s work revolves around human behaviour and the connection to our primal selves. The brand-new Intra-spectrum installation will be in a prime location at the main entrance and exit between the main exhibition space and the [d]arc thoughts conference. The installation will aim to ignite and resurface memories and emotions as visitors journey through the space.

LiGHT 24 will also be hosting an open Q&A session with Frankie on the 20th of November at 4.20 PM, where she will delve deeper into the inspiration and design process behind the installation. This will take place in the [d]arc thoughts talks space on the Gallery Level of the event.

This art piece has been uniquely created to give the audience at LiGHT 24 a unique immersive experience. Intra-spectrum has taken inspiration from Frankie’s recent explorations of the narrative of consciousness and subconscious within her body of work through the harmony of reflection and refraction. Frankie said, “I want people to immerse themselves within the light that we shine and the light that we hold within through an array of beautiful invigorating colours. This installation is all about eliciting introspection and connection. For anyone experiencing this installation, I would want them to connect to their inner selves and to have the opportunity to just be present – finding that pause, to stop and stare and immerse.”

Frankie was delighted to have her concept sponsored by formalighting. She adds, “I’m a big believer in collaboration – it makes a project so much richer. I’m looking forward to merging products with design and going hand in hand on the journey for the benefit of everyone – enhancing and enriching the installation and experience.”

Commenting on the collaboration, formalighting’s Sharon Maghnagi, Global Operations Director, says, “formalighting is ecstatic to be supporting the Frankie Boyle art installation at LiGHT 24. As a company we strive towards innovation in our product development with a specific focus on lighting art galleries and museum applications.

“Collaborating with Frankie as a light artist further helps us realise this vision, as it challenges us to research the best possible technical solutions to create the desired lit effect. Frankie’s vision and design approach makes the process and unveiling something that personally the team are excited to be a part of and we really look forward to hearing the feedback of the LiGHT 24 visitors. Congratulations to the team at [d]arc media for adding such an immersive element to this year’s show!”

When asked what she is most looking forward to experiencing at LiGHT 24, Frankie shared that it was “People’s reactions, seeing and hearing how this installation affects them.”

LiGHT 24 takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London, on 20 & 21 November 2024.

Starring seven-time BAFTA Award-winner Steve Coogan, Dr. Strangelove is the first-ever theatrical adaptation of Stanley Kubrick’s comedy masterpiece. Written by Armando Iannucci and directed by Sean Foley, it tells the story of a US General who decides to go rogue and declare a nuclear attack on Russia; who, he discovers, have a Doomsday machine capable of destroying the world! The show features a lighting design by Olivier Award-winning Jessica Hung Han Yun who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply her lighting rig.

Prior to its run at the Noel Coward Theatre, there was much anticipation leading up to the opening of Dr Strangelove; largely due to the cult status of the film. As such, did the movie version influence Jessica’s design? She answers: “I had in fact watched the film many years ago and remembered enjoying it and the lighting specifically. The iconic image of the war room light and the shafts of light in the background have always stayed with me. Similarly, the quality and texture of the light is so vivid in the film; largely due to its legendary cinematographer Gilbert Taylor who has a great eye for light and shadows. As such, when I was approached to be part of the production, it was a no brainer! And given I was so captivated by the film’s style and visual aspects, I was more than happy to allow this to have some influence on my design”.

Once she agreed to come on board for the show, one of Jess’s biggest tasks was allowing the story to make the leap from screen to stage. She explains: “To state the obvious, theatre and film are two completely different mediums so there was always going to be a huge difference in the feel and look of the piece. However, I was keen to keep the essence of the original movie running throughout. Hence the challenge was how we could bring this to life in a theatrical sense without simply creating a carbon copy. This largely arouse through a focus on the various locations and creating transitional lighting that embodies that perpetual feeling of an unsettling environment as we move through the different set pieces”.

Given the show’s ambitious nature, this meant that, despite knowing what she wanted to achieve, Jessica’s design kept evolving through both the rehearsal and technical period. She comments: “My main objective with the transactions was that they almost acted as storytelling actions in little tableaux. That said, we weren’t entirely sure how these would work until we saw them incorporated as part of the actual show. Similarly, the colour palette developed hugely throughout the production process. The original movie is black and white so having to bring it to stage was brand-new to all of us as we were adding colour to it for the first time. We initially looked at some photos from behind-the-scenes of the original film and it was quite fascinating to see how the pallet of the costumes evolved and what these eventually became for the stage version”.

Knowing what she wanted to achieve with her lighting design, Jessica approached the Hire Department at WL to supply her fixtures. She explains: “My rig consists of a mixture of MAC Encore Colds, ETC Halcyons, MAC Aura XBs, Solaframes, Par Cans, ETC Source Four Lustr 2s and Rosco Pica Cubes. I actually had each one in a range of positions, mainly to help get around moving set pieces as well as static pieces such as the war room light. Specifically, the XBs were used as backlights, Halcyons were used as specials and cross light, whilst the Pica Cubes were utilised for footlights and for the plane in the bottom area as little backlight fixtures”.

Of course, with a show as ambitious as this, there will no doubt be some obstacles. Jessica explains: “The biggest challenge was that each piece setting had its own obstacles. A prime example is the war room light as this huge item flew in and obviously took up a vast section of the stage. As such, it became a case of working out the right angles for the fixtures and where best to position them. Ironically, in this show, it was the most simple scenes, such as those that take place in Ripper’s office, which were often the most complicated!”.

Dr Strangelove has now opened and will run until 25th January 2025.

Jessica concludes: “I’m incredibly proud of what the creative and production teams have achieved on Dr Strangelove. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to the Hire Team at WL for their support throughout”.