Concept Note

February 2014

THE STORY OF LIGHT FESTIVALAn intersection of science, culture, and art

Does the colour of an object lie in the object or in your eye or in light itself?

What is duality? Does the duality in physics have anything to do with yin and yang?

How do you imagine infinity?

No, this is not an IQ test.

CONCEPT

The answers to these questions and more lie in astrophysics and quantum mechanics. And these concepts are magical. They are as magical as concepts of spirituality. They are also as hard to explain and take years of study to understand.

Or so they say.

We believe that everyone can and should taste these ideas, through a medium or form that they can relate to.

MISSION

The Story of Light was born in a house in Goa, India, by a group of physicists and artists who realized that they could work together to give everybody a taste of the magic of our universe that sometimes gets lost in equations.

Our mission is to share classical and quantum views of modern science with the wide and underexposed general public to give them a different view of nature and life, of waves and particles, of everywhere and nowhere, of matter and energy, of interactions and forces, through ways in which they can be easily grasped—art exhibits, movie screenings, graphic novels, theatre, etc.

When it comes to science, some of us approach it through math and

equations and it makes perfect sense. But some of us don't relate to

equations. We relate through emotions and feelings. So we end up

rejecting science and not seeing its relevance to our lives. But science

explores life and we can understand this through stories. If someone

tells us the story of an equation, the poetry of math, the emotional

relevance of a hypothesis... then we see.

Tanushri Shukla writer-editor, digital strategy

SO, WHY LIGHT?

Visionwhat we see, how we see and perceive, how animals

see, illusions, colour

Naturerainbows, shadows, lightning, sunsets,

bioluminescence, fireflies

Life & Culturesunlight and life, light and

healing, ancient light stories

Technologyradiowaves, microwaves,

quantum computing, teleportation

Energylight and matter, sun’s

energy, nuclear energy, plasma energy, human

energy

Universefirst light, light and dark,

invisible light, stars

Light touches everything. It is the one all-pervasive ‘thing’ in our observableuniverse that all living beings interact with. Electricity works with light. Photography captures light. Plants make food with light. Wireless signals travel through light. The connections and relations are infinite.

The Story of Light explores six aspects of light:

AND WHY A FESTIVAL?

There are many creative ways to tell a story: exhibits, graphic novels, pop-up talks,

theater and dance, online animations…

We talked for days and experimented with some of these ways. The conclusion was

clear. We need to start with a bang — a multifaceted approach — a festival with

an interactive exhibition, talks, screenings, and workshops.

Through the festival, we wish to reach all age groups with something for everybody.

WHERE AND WHEN?

The festival will run for two weeks in

December 2014-January 2015. The main

venue will be Nashville, a mesmerizing

property in Socorro, Goa. We target

500-1000 visitors including locals and

tourists (both foreign and Indian), old and

young, exposed and underexposed.

Smaller installations / events will run at

different locations in Goa.

OUR APPROACH

We approach light through art and design.

Physicists and scientists who understand the theoretical concepts will work with artists

who have the imagination to comprehend these abstract concepts and bring them

into the public space through metaphors. Can we give people a direct experience

of infinity or show them a wave collapse through an artist’s interpretation?

We also plan to maintain a delicate balance of science and art, so that the science

is not overwhelming for the general public but also not necessarily “dumbed down”

or made entirely abstract.

Examples of early ideas follow…

LIG

HT

& V

ISIO

NI SPY WITH MY MAGIC EYE

We see because visible light reflects or shoots out from surfaces to hit the receptors in our eye. These signals are interpreted by our brain to form a vision. But the same light is not visible to all creatures, so all creatures do not see the same way.

Bees and butterflies see in UV

Dogs mostly see greys

Bulls see only black and white

We are designing an installation for visitors to experience the world through the eyes of different animals and insects – and understand why and how.

LIG

HT

& N

ATU

RE LIGHTNING LOVE

Do you know why lightning chooses to strike

particular spots on Earth? How does it know where to

go?

Lightning is a bunch of free electrons zooming about.

We know that electrons are negative. And they are

most attracted to extra positive spots. Lightning rods

are missing some electrons and that is why they are

used to attract lightning. Humans are also missing

some electrons

This story could be portrayed through a dance drama.

We are looking for an interested director to develop

the plot.

LIG

HT,

LIF

E, &

CU

LTU

RESURYA NAMASKAR

Every wondered why yoga recommends we salute the sun in the

morning? What is it about sunlight that stimulates mental and

physical well being?

Learn the reasons behind the surya namaskar or sun salutation and

its effects through a practical workshop.

BARDO

The Tibetan Book of the Dead speaks of Bardo, the intermediate place

between life and death, and clear light experienced at the time of

death. Reports from near-death experiences speak of similar light.

Lay in a coffin fitted out with lights and sounds to experience a bardo-like

state. We focus on the therapeutic effects of light and sound.

LIG

HT

& T

ECH

NO

LOG

YDE(CODE)

Our friendly transistor radio got its name from radio

waves – light waves of the lowest frequency range in

the wide spectrum of light. Sound is produced by our

radios by decoding these radio waves and turning

them into the songs and chatter we so love.

Receiver, transmitter, light signal – learn the ingredients

of coding any message (the entire basis of the

telecommunication industry) through an interactive

installation.

LIG

HT

& E

NER

GY

ELUSIVE ENERGY (E is equal to MCwhat?)

Energy is easily defined in relation to other things such as action,

movement, material. But even the best scientists struggle to

describe the nature of pure energy.

Learn about the complex and simple relation between light, energy,

and matter through a curated selection of movies and talks running

through the festival

LIG

HT

& T

HE

UN

IVER

SE

INFINITY

Astronomers study the universe by studying light. This light travels billions and

billions of years to reach our telescopes and eyes. This light would continue to

travel infinitely if it did not interact with any matter.

We invite artists to demonstrate the concept of infinity through any art medium.

These exhibits will be strategically located around public spaces in Goa.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Through the different installations and events, here are some of the scientific concepts that we would like to highlight.

Light travels infinitely until it interacts with

matter

How it interacts with matter is

magical

We slowly shift our mental image of a particle as

something solid to energy held

together by complex

interactions

Particle, wave, what’s the

exact nature of light and, for

that matter, the electrons and protons that

make us

The Unknown: What is energy really? What is

dark?

MAKING IT HAPPEN

A core team will work with various collaborators through 2014 to shape the festival. Initial dialogues between the science folk and the art folk are of paramount importance for exchange of ideas. Our collaborators would include

Artists, designers, installation &

performance artists

Scientists: physics, astronomy, chemistry,

biology

Philosophers, Yogis, Monks

Project managers, coordinators, event

managers

Publicisers, networkers, funders

Volunteers and implementation

enthusiasts

STORY OF LIGHT CORE…SO FAR

Jaya Ramchandani

chief festival coordinator

…quit her job as a full-time science editor

four years ago to go explore the universe.

Her time at Leiden University (studying

astronomy for two years) in the Netherlands

changed the way she saw light. And changed

the way she saw life. She’s been working with

astronomy outreach since and is compelled to

share with people what she has learnt.

Discussions with friends led to birth of ‘The

Story of Light’ project.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jayar

Nash Paul

exhibition design chief / festival coordinator

...grew up with an outdated education system

and now wants to try to turn it around.

Through interactions and installations, he

wishes to educate audiences, to shock and

awe, to make them smile and whistle, to spark

their minds, to see the world from a different

angle.

www.antiflutter.com

BUDGET

Material Costs/Equipment/

SuppliesRent of spaces

Coordination and travel costs

Legal procedures, government permissions

Artist and volunteer accommodation

and travelPublicity

At this stage, we would appreciate advice on how to think about budgeting and raising funds. The monies will be spent on:

ROADMAP

Closer to beginning

Brainstorming on design and crafting the story

Dialogues with collaborators

Raising some funds

Closer to middle

Artist-scientist incubation points

Piloting some ideas in public spaces

Improving the story

Spreading the word

Raising more funds

Closer to end

Arrangements for volunteers

Intensive design work

Promotion

Putting it all together

INVITING COLLABORATORS

We are inviting collaborators to be a part of all of this.

Collaboration as core members, artists, designers, installation & performance artists, scientists (physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology), coordinators, event managers, philosophers, yogis, monks, volunteers, implementation enthusiasts, publicisers, networkers, funders

There is much to be done.

To start a dialogue, propose an idea, or simply talk, please write to Jaya (scratchpost@gmail.com) or Nash (nash@antiflutter.com).