Late night reading. Photographing by the light of the moon. Finding a beautiful world at the dark bottom of a lake. The mystery of the night and of darkness attracts the eight artists featured in this video – and for very different reasons. Discover them here.
British artist Darren Almond (b. 1971) did a series of photographs by the light of the moon, which rendered the landscape suddenly unfamiliar: “There was a strangeness in the light, which I couldn’t determine.”
Danish artist Tal R (b. 1967) shares the challenge of portraying the moon reflected in the water in central Copenhagen, and argues that the nighttime is a clever time as “the moon sees a lot.”
“The real thing is under the surface.” American video artist Bill Viola (b. 1951) fell into the bottom of a lake when he was six years old and saw the most beautiful – and genuine – world he had ever seen.
British writer Salman Rushdie (b. 1947) grew up with Eastern fables as bedtime stories told by his father, and was particularly fascinated by tales, which related to the dark side.
Come down by the riverside, into the black water as American artist Roni Horn (b. 1955) performs a powerful monologue: “Black is where you can suspend your faith.”
To Dutch artist Marcel van Eeden (b. 1965) there is a certain comfort in working with the notion of death, as it is a way for him to prepare himself for “non-existence.”
Late night reading was something very dear to Swedish author Henning Mankell (1948-2015), who as a child cherished the rare conversations about books he had with his father at night.
Indian photographer Dayanita Singh (b. 1961) discusses the fictitious place ‘Dream Villa’ and how she would drive around in the dark of the night in order to find elements for the project.
All interviews by Marc-Christoph Wagner and Christian Lund, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Edited by: Klaus Elmer
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2015
Supported by Nordea-fonden
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