Reflections
By Lou Chappelle
'Reflections' has been selected as the touring commission for the Illuminate the Midlands consortium, a new pilot project bringing together six Light Night festivals and events across the Midlands.
Funded through Arts Council England's National Lottery Project Grants programme, the artwork will be presented at each of the six festivals between October 2026 and March 2027, giving audiences across the region the opportunity to experience the installation.
‘Refections’ is a series of 9 holographic mirrors of various sizes and heights, inviting viewers to pause for a moment and see their portraits intertwined with videos of moving water. The flow of water and its ever changing shapes acts as a reminder of our own bodies made of 60% of water, and our symbolic ties with nature.
The work is inspired by the dark pools our ancestors would have come across to face their own image for the first time. There is a powerful painting by Caravaggio that depicts Narcissus, leaning into a pool of water, and falling in love with his own reflection.
In the same way, the work aims to make people feel beautiful, like Narcissus, and see themselves again as if for the first time.
An atmospheric sound track mixing water sounds and voices accompanies and deepens that moment of reflection.
About The Artist
Lou Chapelle is a UK-based French digital artist. Her work combines video with holographic and digital technologies to create both large scale immersive spaces and more intimate interactive experiences.
Her exploration of the medium of video as “light in space” re-invents the way we look at moving images, giving the pixels a more tangible, physical and palpable form.
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Her videos, often created collaboratively with communities of people, invite us to re-connect with nature, and the environment, and create a sense of collective care. They highlight the fragility and beauty of life, and the invisible threads of connections that link us – between humans and accross species.
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She has exhibited across the UK and abroad, including a range of light festivals (Light Night Leeds, Lancaster Light Night, Light Night Wigan and Leigh, Nightfall, NuitsNumeriques St Ex) and galleries and museums (Tate Liverpool, Bluecoat, FACT, Pompidou-Centre Metz). She has created bespoke works for many arts organisations (including Belluard Bollwerk internation – Switzerland, Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Arts), Universities (Manchester, Leeds), and National Trust.
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She has been the recipient of numerous Arts Council England Awards for all and Project Grants, with a recent R&D through the Developing your Creative Practice Grant. Recognition include SkyArts:Ignition Fund winner in 2012, finalist of the Liverpool Art Prize 2013, finalist of Images of Public Engagement Award, National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement, 2018.