Lantern Magic review

A review of Lantern Magic at Chester Zoo

On the 20th December I went to Chester to see an art exhibition in and around the grounds of the Zoo called Lantern Magic. I arrived at the Zoo, where we were given triangular shaped lanterns on the end of bamboo sticks, which were made out of cotton canvas with a light inside. When everyone had a lantern the effect of them was phenomenal, as all you could see in the distance was different coloured triangles and a string of fairy lights leading the way. I also liked this as it enabled the audience to be involved in the piece of art that they were going to see.

The first section of the walk was a sculpture that was made from lit up starts hanging on a wire frame, so it looked like a Christmas tree. I liked this section, as it looked extremely simple, but it was effective. I also liked how a simple wire structure could be associated easily with a Christmas tree to make it a piece of art that relates with almost everyone.

The next section of the walk was an enchanted forest, which had giant flowers, made of the canvas material, which were lit up in vibrant neon colours. The bright colours that were used helped enhance the artwork, as it made the flowers more noticeable, as well as a source of light for the visitors to help them find the way. There was also a worker dressed up as one of the flowers, but instead the lights on the costume were changing colours. This was a good addition to the section, as it made the section more interactive for the families that were visiting, as well as it giving the children something to interact with as you couldn't touch the art pieces.

Before going to the next section you were forced to queue and have a photo on a green screen that you could buy at the end of the walk. I personally didn't like this, as there was no way to skip this section and the photo wasn't fee. To improve this, the photo should have been optional, so people that wanted to could skip it. I think that it was there, so it would appeal to the target audience of families at the event.

The next section was a garden, which had lit up animals made from wire structures and painted canvas. I liked this section, because the animals looked realistic and they all had different facial expressions, which made them have character even though they are objects. Some of the animals in this section had people controlling them, so they could move. I thought that this worked well, because it made the art pieces interactive, as well as the animals looking as if they were real. This was by far my favourite section of the walk, as all of the lit up animals together gave the whole area a subtle glow that made the walk seem magical.

The next section was full of people with large, neon, lit up spiders on their heads. I quite liked this, as the colours gave the animal a character that was also represented through its' actions. It also made the section interactive, which appealed to the young families there as well. I didn't like the lit up sled with Father Christmas in, because I felt that it detracted from the whole experience of the nature theme that was displayed throughout the walk.

The final section of the walk was a lit up walkway back to the entrance. I thought that this looked good, as in the distance you could see lines of fairy lights and lantern covering the path. On the other hand, there wasn't anything to look at in this section, which made it a bit boring to walk through.

In conclusion, I would recommend for people to go and see this art exhibition, especially children and their families as most sections of it relate to them more than it would to teenagers and adults. This art exhibition has taught me that using the contrast of light and dark adds an extra dimension to artwork that wouldn't be seen in normal daylight. I feel that this experience would help me in my possible future career in production arts, as it has shown me that when making sets and artwork you can use natural elements, such as light and suitable materials to change the way that it looks. It has also taught me that colours and a contrast of light levels can help attract and detract peoples' attention from an object.

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1 Comments

  • Sally Trivett

    On 5 January 2016, 17:35 Sally Trivett Voice Team commented:

    Noa, thank you for your review, this sounds like such an amazing art instillation. If you liked the contrast between light and dark you should look at an artistic technique called chiaroscuro. It sounds like what this artist has done during the sculpture walk. It can be applied to many art forms too. The photo part is a shame, but it seems like you had a good time nonetheless. Was there any music on the walk and did the artist incorporate any different mediums such as photography or a more 2D visual art?

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