Interview with Julio Bao Design and Teaching Partner at
AAI. The lighting designer Julio Bao has been, together with his work group Fermín Iniesta and Soraya Rodríguez, the winner of the competition proposed by APDI to intervene on a wall in Madrid, with the project “The reflection of Velázquez’s sky”.
We interview Julio Bao from the Association of Lighting Authors, A.A.I.
Following the APDI proposal, how did you come up with the idea for the wall lighting design?
When I saw the proposal and the requirements of the contest I found it an interesting and complex challenge, I proposed the idea to the rest of the team taking some time to evaluate it. Then we visited the square and researched about that area of Madrid, and we were told that in the church of San Juan, now disappeared, was buried Diego Velázquez. That’s where it all started, our first idea.
To this story and observing the works of Velázquez, we wanted to add the concept of the sky of Madrid, represented in many plastic and even literary works, and that Velázquez one day also saw and painted, and with all this create a discourse in which the passer-by becomes a spectator and identifies with his immediate environment, that is, the neighborhood and the city of Madrid.
The next idea, the windows, are supposed to represent a space that still exists in the memory, a building that was there and that logically was inhabited. We thought of looking for a symbolism by means of windows lit at night and that, through the light, would project the idea of an inhabited house.
Finally, to create a composition that would unify all these elements in a conclusive envelope of meaningful ideas, we considered that the light on the windows would fade away to give way to the sleep of its inhabitants and in the darkness of the night would appear the memories of the sky of Madrid that one day was reflected in those windows. The same sky that his neighbours saw and that Velázquez observed and captured in his paintings.
Why did you choose this type of installation for the intervention?
The proposal was a challenge, not only artistic but also technical when trying to meet all the requirements of the competition itself so we evaluated the technical solutions offered by the market, deciding to build 9 LED screens and mount them inverted on the wall to project onto the wall. The projected images referring to the illusion of an inhabited house and the reveries suggested by the sky in Velázquez’s paintings will be made by means of a video.
In order to make the technical decisions of the project we made tests using a led screen with the same characteristics and projected on a similar wall, with the same orange polymer and texture, thus checking the effects of the diffuse image but clear enough to suggest all our ideas.
The plan for the wall is not to cover it so that it remains prominent. Do not cancel the support but add it to the project. That’s why led windows use simple elements that still let you see the texture and color of the wall.
One of our current artistic references has been Jim Campbell, who reverses the direction of the LED screens towards the wall, generating abstract images of reality.
Who are your team members and what future projects do you have?
Currently our team consists of three people:
Soraya Rodríguez, consultant and cultural manager, and on this occasion documenting the project, contributing ideas and adding her literary talent. I teamed up with her since 2008 on creative and training projects.
Fermín Iniesta, tireless generator of ideas, photographer and designer of spaces. I teamed up with him since 2010 for the lighting design of the Turkish Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo.
The two have also teamed up on other occasions such as the project to evaluate the Marlborough Fort as an interpretation centre for the British Network in Menorca.
I add to the group my profile as a lighting designer, and my experience in scenic and architectural art, thus forming a very complete creative team that adds ideas and concerns and resolved in artistic and technical issues. We have adapted very well among the members of the team and we are generating many ideas to develop, having several projects in sight and international competitions that we find very interesting.
From the Association of Lighting Authors, we want to congratulate you for such an award and thank you for dedicating this particular interview giving us details that have inspired you, so that other light lovers can follow the same steps.
SaLuZ!
