A sea of sunflowers, swaying in the wind. It brings to mind Van Gogh’s famous painting. As you come closer, you see that they are lanterns. They are made according to Chinese tradition. This light artwork is a tribute to Vincent van Gogh, who painted 69 sunflowers in Arles, France. Flowers that he saw as lanterns, just like the ones in Vrijdag’s light artwork.
The illuminated flowers vary in size, with the smallest ones at the front. Take a closer look: are you really seeing what you think you are seeing? If you take a photograph of the artwork from a distance, all the sunflowers appear to be the same size. This is remarkable, because in reality they vary greatly in size. By arranging the illuminated flowers from low to high, the artist creates an optical illusion. In painting, this is known as the trompe-l’œil effect. This effect transforms the three-dimensional artwork into a graphic image, referring to Vincent van Gogh’s paintings.
Surrounded by an oasis of colour, swaying sunflowers, chirping crickets and the sharp calls of swallows, you can imagine yourself in the middle of the French countryside for a moment. The sound of the swift can be heard more often in Hugo Vrijdag’s works. What feeling does this evoke in you?
This artwork may well look familiar to you. In 2019, GLOW presented it for the first time, and the sunflowers immediately became a favourite with the public. Hugo Vrijdag created the artwork that same year in collaboration with the Nanjing light festival, the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam and Van Gogh Brabant. After GLOW 2019, the artwork was exhibited at the Qinhuai Light Festival in Nanjing and at festivals across Europe. We are proud that this artwork can now be seen in Veldhoven.
