The Science of Light
[Paid post] La Prairie explores the Science of Light with Korean artist Chul-Hyun Ahn at Art Basel Hong Kong
[Sponsored article]
La Prairie explores the Science of Light with Korean artist Chul-Hyun Ahn at Art Basel Hong Kong
The Swiss luxury skincare brand continues its global partnership with Art Basel with an illuminating exhibition composed of a series of three unique works created by renowned Korean artist Chul-Hyun Ahn.
Mastering the Science of Light
In their ongoing quest to master the Science of Light to enhance the efficacy of its beauty products, La Prairie’s scientists made their latest breakthrough with a new chapter of discovery - The Equation of Light, Decoded. Based on the relationship between colour, reflection and light as they apply to the skin, this equation is used in the lavish White Caviar Illuminating Pearl Infusion, and White Caviar Crème Extraordinaire. Together, they respond to the two components in the Equation of Light that affect luminosity and make the skin looks as though it is illuminated from within. The equation of light is decoded.
An artistic dialogue to illuminate the Equation of Light
The Baltimore-based Chul-Hyun Ahn is a pillar in optical and light art with his internationally-acclaimed and mind-bending light sculptures combining luminescence, colour, and illusion as physical representations of infinite beauty. The resulting luminous works urge the viewer to consider humankind’s boundless quest to explore the notion of timelessness and the poetics of light. “I translate geometric forms and the Zen practice of meditation into an art of light, space, and technology. I seek to entice the viewer to look deeply into his or her frame of environments and see what is not there. I explore the immersive, illusory possibilities of reflection, fascinated by the notion of the void and its limitless nature. Light is the perfect medium to explore that notion,” explains Ahn.
In his first collaboration with La Prairie, Ahn creates three unique pieces that explore the fundamental properties of luminosity, colour and reflection – the very basis for La Prairie’s Science of Light.
The three installations, entitled ‘Transparency’, ‘4 Dots’ and ‘Light Drawing’ are being displayed at the La Prairie Pavilion in the Collectors Lounge at Art Basel Hong Kong from March 29 to 31.
Travel to an imaginary space with ‘Transparency’ through a portal of infinite reflections using layers of mirrors, reminiscent of the layers within the skin, that reflect light and create a luminous illusion of expanded space. Take a moment to contemplate the transformative power of light.
Marvel at the dazzling spectrum of colour with ‘4 Dots’. Layers of pigmented light filters evoking the constituent parts of white light and the pigments found naturally in the various layers that make up the skin are used to maximum effect. The shape of each dot references a cellular composition while the repetition of the reflection speaks to a loss of luminosity with time.
Admire the beauty of the most basic building blocks of the universe depicted in the glowing ‘Light Drawing’. Beginning with the Science of Light, this work uses reflection and luminosity to evoke a precise geometric arrangement of atoms that constitute a molecule.
