Installations
Chasing the Light creates public art installations informed by artist Maya Sanbar’s multifaceted skills gathered from her experience in film and structural engineering. We explore sculpting physical spaces on a large scale that speaks to the human scale, interiorized by the visitors’ experiences. These are magnified by the unconscious connection to the five senses triggered by the physical interaction that is always encouraged, as well as our soundscapes, scent scapes, and visual journeys.
‘Waiting’ Film Installation, The Ditch, Shoreditch Town Hall, London
June 2015
’Waiting,’ a 2015 triptych film installation produced and directed by Sanbar, and initially shown at The Ditch in the Shoreditch Town Hall, is set in the no man's land between Gaza and Egypt. The film reveals three different perspectives of the same place, including Palestinian migrants in transit and the overwhelming towers of checkpoints. Visitors were given the choice of three soundtracks to listen to - classical music, nature sounds, and a rock song by The Doors - which accompanied the visuals. The immersive installation was a sound experiment of how visual and auditory senses inform each other and influence visitors' emotional reactions to the work.
‘Chasing the Light’ Installation, Berlin Wall
November 2019
‘Chasing The Light' installation, exhibited from 4 - 10 November 2019, commemorated the 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Constructed on top of an underground WWII bunker in the courtyard of the Factory Berlin in Mitte, the public installation was a tunnel of mirrors representing the wobbly walls of our minds that are still prevalent despite being invisible.
As visitors entered the 10m long tunnel, they walked through a flood-lit misty floor. On each side of the walls were convex mirrors, allowing visitors to see their reflections and what was behind them in their blind spots. As they walked through the tunnel, the mirrors multiplied, reminding us of the conversations that we have with ourselves as our minds expand and reflect back to us. After sunset, the installation appeared surreal as the mirrors suspended on the deep black internal walls and the fog accentuated the presence and dance of the air surrounding the visitors.
The tunnel installation reminded visitors that although walls such as the one separating East and West Berlin have fallen, new physical barriers are being constructed each day around the world. Whether these walls exist between Israel and Palestine, the US and Mexico, or metaphorically across the EU in response to the refugee crisis, Sanbar expresses the widespread sense of division among people, places, and spaces. The installation also addresses the mental walls within ourselves, including those we are not even conscious of. 'Chasing the Light' is also an homage to the journey we must all embark on, whether spiritual or physical, to pursue happiness as visitors quite literally chase the light within the fog as their shadows cast around their bodies and the mirrors project their reflections.
UN Exhibition ‘Voices on the Wind’
December 2019
‘Voices on the Wind’ was a multi-sensory visual art installation of film, audio, and photography that shared multiple viewpoints of the refugee experience. Created by Chasing the Light Studio and the World Frontiers Forum in partnership with UNHCR and UN75, the installation celebrated the 70th anniversary of the UNHCR in December 2020. It was created and displayed amid the global pandemic, with rising climate change issues and the resulting consequences on the wellbeing of refugees, internally displaced, and stateless people. Sanbar aimed to commemorate those impacted by the humanitarian crisis, including refugees themselves and citizens of host countries that have led the way with their resilience and courage to support displaced people. The installation, which was the UNHCR’s largest virtual exhibition to date, was curated by Maya Sanbar and included commentary from the renowned photographer Steve McCurry and musician Sting.
Read more above Voices on the Wind here.
‘Words on the Hill’ Installation, Coronet Theatre, London
October 2020
‘Words on the Hill’ installation wrapped the Coronet Theatre in cloth on National Poetry Day, 1st October 2020. The outdoor audio-visual installation was created in collaboration with the KCAW20 Public Art Trail. It celebrated the power of words through the sound and visual language of poetry that climbed up to the top of the iconic cultural institution in the heart of Notting Hill. Handwriting and images were sewn across 80 meters of hessian while a soundscape composed by Amit Rai Sharma of classic and contemporary poetry was broadcasted in various languages. The cloth, which covered the theatre's exterior and the soundscape playing in the background, highlighted the curative power of self-expression that transcends cultural differences and celebrated the musicality of words that sound as expressively as they feel.
‘Blue Minds’ at 161 Sloane Street, London
June - July 2021
‘Blue Minds’ was an exhibition curated by Nico Kos Earle and Andrea Hamilton in collaboration with the Blue Marine Foundation. Gathering 26 world-leading contemporary artists, including Sanbar and her ‘Conduitions’ series (2020-2021), this exhibition framed the ocean as an endless source of inspiration and highlighted the importance of maintaining healthy oceans. Sanbar also created the show’s immersive soundscape installation with Input Som, displaying screenings of films on ocean conservation and climate change, including ‘Aquarela’ and ‘Footsteps On The Wind’, directed by Maya Sanbar.
‘The Puddle’
April 2022
THE PUDDLE, a 10-minute short installation film, is a compelling observation of social behavior shot in an underpass in the bustling city of London. Commuters' live reactions are documented as they confront a large and intimidating puddle lying in the center of the tunnel, no way around it without getting wet to the ankles, posing whether one should walk through or turn the other way. The water, which is visibly filthy and polluted with random objects, glistens in surprising beauty as the tunnel lights reflect onto it, illustrating the magic that can be found in unconventional places.
This social experiment caught on camera is both humorous and thought-provoking, as audiences are encouraged to question what they would do in the same situation. The film speaks to the ways in which humans respond to inconveniences, assess pros and cons, and their thought processes when faced with obstacles.
PUDDLE premieres at the JW Anderson flagship store on Thursday, 28th April 2022.
