Enlightning
2024
Trinted fabric
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s multidisciplinary practice explores the themes of time, empiricism, and metaphysics. Building on his technical expertise in classical photographic traditions, he investigates the ways in which photography can document the unseen forces of nature.
Enlightning, a fusion of the words Enlightenment and Light(n)ing, embodies the connection between the two renowned series, Lightning Fields and Opticks, both emerging from the study of nature. The artist views the Enlightenment, the European scientific and intellectual movement advocating the belief that a “natural law” underlies all aspects of life, and Kenshō (enlightenment), from Buddhist philosophy, referring to an awakening where one experiences the true nature of the self, as complementary concepts, two sides of the same coin. Examining the world around us to understand the nature of life and looking within ourselves to understand the nature of the self.
The Enlightning ceiling canvas was created especially for Palazzo Diedo.
Courtesy of the artist
Photos by Massimo Pistore
Opticks 062, 163, 050, 061
2018-2022
C-print
Isaac Newton
Opticks: or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light
Published in 1704
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s multidisciplinary practice encompasses the themes of time, empiricism, and metaphysics. His works explore history and temporal existence, delving into the themes of time, empiricism, and metaphysics. Building on his technical expertise in classical photographic traditions, he investigates the ways in which photography can document the unseen forces of nature.
The nine photographs in the Opticks series draw inspiration from Isaac Newton’s studies on the nature of light. Sugimoto recreated the scientist’s experiments using a prism to break white light down into its constituent colors. Emerging from a scientific study, the resulting photographs present sublime abstract compositions. An original copy of Isaac Newton’s Opticks: or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light is on display alongside photographs inspired by the book.
Courtesy of the artist
Photos by Massimo Pistore