A.A.V.V., The Night Issue – n°05, 2022

The fifth issue of The Light Observer is dedicated to the night, which immediately evokes a range of ideas, feelings and memories. It is precisely this multiplicity that prompted us to explore this theme in our new issue. Sometimes a space of expression and freedom, sometimes a moment of tension and fear, the night stimulates and exasperates. It makes us reflect on our dreams.

Featured Contributors
Henni Alftan, Tracy Fullerton, Awoiska van der Molen, Cecilia Del Gatto, José Angelino, Jean Lilensten, Alain Badiou, Marie Sommer, Agata Haxhiaj, Dorian Jespers, Javier Pérez, Tokio Matsubara, Kohei Yoshiyuki, 4spaces, ewo, beierle.goerlich, Augustin Fresnel, and an exclusive series by Anna Maria Schönrock

Top articles
Photo series by acclaimed photographer Awoiska van der Molen. In her photographs, devoid of titles or location indications, the silver gelatin prints seem to have no notion of time – day or night.

Interview with experimental game designer Tracy Fullerton, on her game The Night Journey developed together with artist Bill Viola.

Interview with artist and photographer Cecilia Del Gatto about her project Umi Hotaru, which experiments with bioluminescent light and photography.

Artist Marie Sommer’s project, shooting at night around a nuclear power station built on the Basque coast.

Interview with acclaimed artist Henni Alftan about her process, fine art and especially her exhibition Night Time at Sprüth Magers.

Japanese photographer Tokio Matsubara and his Okinoshima series on the sky, sea and islands.

Interview with up-and-coming director Dorian Jespers on his first film Sun Dog: a journey into the frozen night of the Russian tundra.

Rome by Led, a video project filming the malfunctions of public lighting in the city of Rome, by artist José Angelino.

Thoughts
Augustin Fresnel’s journey recounted by writer Jeanette Farrell. His theories have marked the history of science. He is most famous for his Fresnel lenses, which were used in lighthouses and saved many lives at sea.

Photo series by Kohei Yoshiyuki, his famous series The Park, and reflections by Benedetta Casagrande on voyeur culture, revenge and the place of the spectator.

An essay by Alfonso de la Torre on artist Javier Pérez’s Caminos series, pastel and charcoal works depicting paths in the forest.

Interview with philosopher Alain Badiou. What do you think about the night? Together we discussed how philosophers have dealt with this topic and what it says about our societies.

Interview with lighting company ewo and artistic duo beierle.goerlich about their collaboration and public lighting, design and innovation.

Interview with researcher Jean Lilensten, who specialises in solar activity and its impact on the planets of the solar system.

Collaborations
Series of paintings by German artist Anna Maria Schönrock. Her artistic research reflects on abstraction and figuration and how the two intertwine. Her series for us is entitled Nocturnal.

Series by aspiring artist Agata Haxhiaj. For this issue on night, we asked this 4-year-old girl to draw some pictures on this theme in a very free and spontaneous way.

Photo series by Alice Fiorilli for 4spaces – ‘Light can be a curtain as well as darkness’.