A Lighting Installation for
Thessaloniki by Yann Kersale

On 8 November 2002, coinciding with the opening of the 43rd International Thessaloniki Film Festival and the activities of the Architectural Network Forum, the Ministry of Culture shall launch an architectural lighting installation by the French light designer, Yann Kersale. The internationally acclaimed Kersale has created a lighting installation inspired by the waterfront of the "old city" of Thessaloniki that will be erected and adorn the city for two months, from 8 November 2002 to 7 January 2003.

The lights are placed on a series of metal structures and cocoon the existing neo classical street lamps. The structures serve to 'illuminate' the functionality of a port within a city. During the course of the day their recurrence and repitition creates an impressive demarcation of city and port. At night, a combination of fixed and revolving lighting effects, designed to emulate and accentuate the motion of the water, create an ever-shifting border between city and sea, challenging our understanding of where the city ends and the sea begins.

The installation is an urban infraction that deconstructs the daily life in the city and opens possibilities to the residents and visitors of the city to experience the waterfront of Thessaloniki in a different way. The installation forms part of the events "10 Days of Architecture" to be held in Thessaloniki between 29 November and 9 December 2002 organised by the Architectural Network Forum. It is also a side event of the international conference examining the theme "Cultural Politics for Cities" (Thessaloniki - Veroia, 8-9 November 2002) which forms part of the STAGE and MOSAIC programs of the Council of Europe.

Most importantly however, the installation permeates the city and gives it sense of unpredictibility and surprise, as it creates a magical image that reminds one of the magic of cinema, only this time to be experienced out of the actual theatre. As such, it is a fitting event to open the film festival

Yann Kersale on his concept of a Lighting Installation for Thessaloniki

"It's actually quite simple really. Firstly I'm a sea person. I come from the sea, from a part of France that is called Brittany, and more particularly from a port city called Douarnene. Therefore the influence of the sea on the city, the relationship between the sea and the city, has great significance in my life. The remarkable and unique feature of Thessaloniki, and the feature that I believe must really be highlighted, is the immediate connectedness of the city with the sea, unlike many other cities in the world where I have created similar installations, like in Saint Nazaire.

I was truly stunned and surprised and particularly moved when I realised how frequently the promenade is used. It is indeed impressive and it has the advantage of being on the Mediaterranean Sea. Here the sea caresses the promenade, the waves often flirt with it, and a light wind cuts across it, thus nothing of all this creates the need for some sort of partition, a shield against the wrath of the sea.

This gives immense clarity to this large walkway, which my installation will track right up to the White Tower and we can also imagine that the installation goes much further, right up to the end of the shoreline of the old city.

Here we find ourselves in a transient place, in a place between road and city. It is an original concept, and one not to be found in many other places. I believe that I needed to emphasise this particular relationship, this kind of object, perceived as temporary, which is also a type of metaphor, played out by the cranes and the other industrial machinery found in a port. In this way, what I do acquires a cinematic dimension, and whilst the work was commissioned by the International Thessaloniki Film Festival, the installation will move away from the objectives of the original commission given it will remain in place till January 2003. In the meantime, many other events will transpire, which will not be directly connected to the work. However the filmic aspect, the ambience and the bright atmoshpere, will remain whilst, just as in a film, the passers-by are part of a travelling shot. I do have something imaginative to present even if later it may be viewed and seen as common. This said, this sea and this city is one and the same thing and light can connect them and reconnect them.

The contrast between the turquoise which will illuminate the promenade, the deep blue of the metallic columns on which the lights rest, the road lit with the colours of the the sunset as the cars drive by, is clearly a visual relationship. From the moment I use the colours of blue and turquiose metaphorically to represent the sea, together with the moving lighting display, I can begin to play with the light, I can give it breadth, I can play with the motion of the waves, I can push the metaphor in another direction. Further, the cloth I will bring and attach to the installation, will flirt with the wind. I want it to be particularly visible during the day and for the cloth propelled by the strong winds, to slide through the streets vertical to the promenadegiven that the architect who developed the city plans for Thessaloniki after the fire, designed these corridors in such a way that the wind could be re-born. All this is the sea, the metaphor of the sea, it is our relationship with the sea. And it is for this reason that everything is blue and turquiose.