Luzinterruptus, “Under Nuclear Threat.” (Photo by Luzinterruptus.)
Madrid’s Luzinterruptus collective’s large-scale light installations aren’t just haunting and beautiful — they’re also activist. Each piece is designed to call attention to some social or urban ill, from light pollution to nuclear radiation. Sometimes the targets are almost impossibly silly (sanitary napkins?), and sometimes the justification seems to have been reverse-engineered (are Madrid’s public sculptures really unapproachable, or did Luzinterruptus just want to cover them with light-up nipples?). But most of the art looks both stunning and effective. Click to embiggen.
“Pharmacy Herbs” was staged as a protest of Madrid’s extra-bright, light-polluting new pharmacy signs.
Luzinterruptus, “Public Swimming Pool on a Background of a Field of Barley.” (Photo by Luzinterruptus.)
“Public Swimming Pool on a Background of a Field of Barley” created a “swimming pool” for a neighborhood whose pool was destroyed for a shopping mall. The city never came through with the promised replacement, but local residents pitched in to help Luzinterruptus make their replacement pool out of cups and blue water.
Luzinterruptus, “Cleaning That Shines.” (Photo by Luzinterruptus.)
“Cleaning That Shines” was intended to draw attention to empty and neglected buildings in Madrid. This one belonged to Spain’s largest telephone company, but was abandoned when the company went private and has been a pimple on the landscape ever since.
There’s way more art, including some works in progress, on Luzinterruptus’ site.
