LONDON, U.K. and FLORENCE, Italy – Damien Hirst's artwork, For the Love of God, is a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds. Douglas James, from architectural lighting design company Mindseye, was tasked with lighting the artwork in a way that it had the appearance of floating in thin air. "This meant absolutely no light pollution or spill," James said, adding, "Sometimes the simplest of briefs can be the most challenging.
"Of course, we weren't able to use the actual piece to develop the lighting strategy, we had to make our own," James continued. "Nonetheless, we did a huge amount of experimentation, and the eventual plan covered the entire exhibition room and the corridor beyond with light absorbing black velvet. Above a false ceiling, shining through two cut outs, we mounted Philips Selecon Aureol projectors at precisely measured angles to the sculpture."
James wanted a sharp white light coming from a low voltage, narrow-beamed fixture. "The Aureol's size and ease of use made it an obvious choice for us, and it proved to be the perfect product for the application," he said. "We didn't want to cast a shadow onto the floor so we framed the beam very tightly to the sculpture and at the same time ensured there was no light spill anywhere else in the room."
Photos of Hirst's artwork made headlines around the world. FTLoG was next put on display at the Palazzo Vecchio in Firenze, where Philips Entertainment Lighting's Italian Distributor, AudioLink, supplied the Selecon Aureols for the exhibit.
For more information, please visit www.philips.com.
