Christian Boltanski uses light in much of his work, and it really adds to his installations.
In this image (above), the light source comes from above. This gives the work a warm feel. It is brighter at the top and gently fades into shadow towards the bottom, the orange tinge to the light also aids the warm, inviting aesthetic. It draws you in and makes you want to get close and look at the images that are on the wall.
In this work, the light also comes from the top of the image. Each photograph has it's own light source and the wires hang down the front of the installation rather than being hidden away. I think the way that the light sits in front of the image is rather clever, because it means that the viewer has to get close to the work in order to see each image properly.
However, the light is quite bright and the way that it hits the faces in the images is a little scary. Its sort of haunting. Especially if the room is dark with just these faces lit up.
I personally really like this piece of work. It is clever, yet very childlike. I remember as a child making puppets in front of a light so that the picture was projected bigger onto a blank wall. Perhaps, thats why i like it, it's rather nostalgic. And the warm orange lights help to aid this emotion.
This installation is quite neat, the wires from the lights are hidden, each light is the same as the others, they are lined up so all the attention is to the reflection/projections on the wall.
