Enlightening Nature

An open air gallery is the theater of the project ‘Outside Videoprojection’, by Ibon Mainar. In his work he chooses natural settings for screening of different images, as if they suddenly pop out of thin air. With his car he travels the Basque country, looking for a good spot for his ‘light paintings’. The result is a multi-dimensional image projected on a tree or any natural, non-homogeneous background, playing with layers and volumes of leaves and branches.

The artist takes in great consideration light as the source of the projection, referring to early uses of that medium in ancient painting techniques, as a quick way to draw and reproduce shapes. Another reference can be found in the magician’s tradition of XIX century, where projections were used to create illusions and magic tricks to surprise people.

So, reproducing on ephemeral, ghostly images, the artist wants to recall the antique origins of the projection. But the research of a connection with the mysterious evanescence of the projections becomes also clear in every picture. That is why the projections often show Alfred Hitchcock, but also interesting details of important paintings, as the one that presents artworks of Peter Paul Rubens.

The ephemeral interventions of the artist tie a dialogue with nature without damaging the surroundings. His work is a short, precious show with a ghost soul, and once he turns off the light and drops his curtain, everything is untouched and trees go on with their silent life.