Levenslicht | Studio Roosegaarde

Levenslicht

104,000 luminescent stones remember 104,000 Holocaust victims.

Levenslicht

Levenslicht

In collaboration with the National Committee for 4 and 5 May, the Holocaust monument LEVENSLICHT (Light of Life) remembers the 104,000 Dutch Holocaust victims with 104,000 specially developed luminescent stones, and encourages participation across 170 municipalities.

Winner of Media Architecture Biennale Award, Spatial Media Art, and MUSE Design Award.

More than 75 years ago the international symbol of the Holocaust, concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, was liberated. Daan Roosegaarde was asked to create a special national work of art for this occasion.

It is a Jewish custom to place stones to honour the deceased, rather than flowers. This was artist Daan Roosegaarde’s inspiration for LEVENSLICHT. By using invisible ultraviolet light, the specially developed stones with fluorescent pigments can light up every few seconds, like a breath of light. The artwork LEVENSLICHT was exhibited in Rotterdam, lighting up the banks of the river Maas. After that LEVENSLICHT was shared among more than 170 local municipalities with a Holocaust history in the Netherlands. Never before was the Holocaust commemorated in so many places at the same time.

LEVENSLICHT raises awareness of the consequences that the Holocaust has had in many Dutch municipalities. Daan Roosegaarde: “It is an honor to be asked for this project. LEVENSLICHT is not a traditional static monument in which people are purely observers; it asks for social participation. Light is life, light is hope: LEVENSLICHT."

Gerdi Verbeet, chairman of the National Committee for 4 and 5 May: “This work of art, which can be seen in many Dutch municipalities affected by the Holocaust, makes the emptiness and loss of this large group tangible in those municipalities where compatriots were murdered during the war, purely and simply for who they were."

The horror of the Holocaust is described by survivors as "beyond words". Therefore design creates a more associative interaction as a platform for sharing: for some Holocaust survivors LEVENSLICHT is a connector of emotional stories which they share with their (grand) children. For others the design of LEVENSLICHT is an activator, to stress the importance of freedom in the future. LEVENSLICHT provides a public place for contemplation about the Holocaust and the broader importance of freedom.

Specifications:

104,000 specially developed light emitting memorial rocks with light pillars and custom software. Public opening by Gerdi Verbeet, Daan Roosegaarde, Mayor of Rotterdam Aboutaleb and Secretary of State Paul Blokhuis on 16 January 2020, 19.25 at Eva Cohen-Hartogkade in Rotterdam, NL. After the opening in Rotterdam, LEVENSLICHT was shared across 170 Dutch municipalities.

For more details about the design watch De Wereld Draait Door TV interview. Especially for schools, the Jewish Cultural Quarter is developing an online learning environment that is aligned with LEVENSLICHT.

For more information please e-mail Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei Netherlands: levenslicht@4en5mei.nl or call during office hours +31 (0)20 7183500.

Clients:

National Committee for 4 and 5 May

Awards:

Winner of Media Architecture Biennale Award, Spatial Media Art, and MUSE Design Award.

Winner Media Architecture Biennale Award
Winner Media Architecture Biennale Award
LEVENSLICHT wins the Media Architecture Award at the Media Architecture Biennale. The design honours the Dutch Holocaust victims with this humbling artwork of 104,000 luminescent memorial stones in 170 municipalities.
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Holocaust monument LEVENSLICHT
Holocaust monument LEVENSLICHT
Monument LEVENSLICHT remembers the 104,000 Holocaust victims with 104,000 luminescent stones. LEVENSLICHT started in Rotterdam NL and was shared to 170 Dutch municipalities in collaboration with the National Committee.