It always takes light to travel from one point to another - one second per 300,000 kilometres to be precise - and thus to reach our eyes. That travel time varies from, for example, 8 minutes for the light sent from the Sun to Earth, to millions of years at the radiation of a star at the edge of our universe. So the information that light brings us, for example how long ago that distant star originated, is actually always old.
This is exactly what Alicia Eggert's work of art All the Light You See is about. As in much of her other work, Eggert uses a poetic statement, written in light, which changes its meaning through a small intervention. Because part of her text 'All the Light You See is From the Past' occasionally goes out, she makes the message even simpler: 'All You See is Past' - after all, everything you see is already behind us. All the Light You See is thus a memento mori (Latin for 'to die in remembrance'), a work of art that reminds us that we too will soon be a thing of the past.
Just like a neon advertisement (especially popular between 1920 and 1960, think of Las Vegas) this piece of text attracts your attention, but Eggert doesn't use it to sell you a product or a service. She hopes to make you aware of the enormous amount of light that constantly reaches you from all angles, and overloads you with information.
I'm Jeroen, and I'll spare you the long introduction. ;) If you're looking for a landscape photo for your wall, you've come to the right place... Read more…