A monumental light installation transforms public space into ephemeral architecture, celebrating solidarity and social bonds through light and language.
We Rise by Lifting Others, monumental light installation, 2023 The work We Rise by Lifting Others is a monumental light installation that takes the form of ephemeral architecture, inspired by both Baroque portals and Luminarie, the traditional festive illuminations of southern Italy. Made from metal structures and colored LED bulbs, it unfolds a rich, frontal, symmetrical composition organized around a large central arch. Light is treated here as a material in its own right: it draws the lines, builds the volumes, and reshapes the perception of the surrounding space. The circular motif at the center, evoking a rose window, gathers a multitude of points of light that create an effect that is both ornamental and immersive. The polychromy — combining blues, greens, yellows, and reds — gives the whole installation an immersive visual intensity. Several luminous inscriptions run through the structure, including We Rise by Lifting Others . Integrated into the composition, this phrase appears as both a graphic and textual element, engaging with the forms without standing apart from them. Through this interplay between architecture, light, and language, the work asserts itself as a large-scale luminous sculpture, temporarily transforming the space into a visual and sensory environment. Continuing the artist’s reflection on collective spaces, this relational architecture creates a shared place that encourages reflection on social interactions and dynamics. Presented on the Place de la Bataille- de-Stalingrad, a historic crossroads in north-eastern Paris at the junction of the Canal Saint-Martin and the Bassin de la Villette, the installation takes on its full significance. This site, marked by movement and by the diversity of its publics, becomes an ephemeral space for gathering and encounters, where light, architecture, and sociability come together. The work acts as a catalyst for social bonds and temporary communities, fully revealing the human and relational dimension of art in the city. Marinella Senatore (born in 1977 in Cava de’ Tirren in Italy. She lives and works in Rome) is a multidisciplinary artist trained in music, film, and fine arts. Her work lies at the intersection of sculpture, installation, and image, with particular attention to light as a sculptural material. She develops a visual language shaped by popular and architectural references, while also incorporating a reflection on collective dynamics. With the support of Ferrero and the Fondation Simone et Cino Del Duca - Institut de France, as part of the 70th anniversary of the Jumelage Paris-Rome
Source: paris.fr — photo: Courtesy the artist and Mazzoleni / Photo credits_ Todd White