Science meets Art at festival of light in Goa

New Delhi, Dec 15 (PTI) Scientists and artists world over are grouping together for a festival in Goa this January, which aims to unravel the various mysteries of light, a phenomenon that makes the birds sing, the plants grow and even make the snakes move in the groovy way they do! Partnering with the Corporation of Panjim city, The Story of Light (SOL) festival scheduled to be held there between January 14- 18 next year has confirmed participation from 45 artists hailing from 14 countries. The event also marks the year 2015, which that has been declared 'The International Year of Light and Light based Technologies' by the United Nations and that aims to raise awareness about the breakthroughs in light science, its applications and its importance to humankind. Participants have planned to show interactive installations, conduct unique workshops and hold performances that will explore the numerous facets of light, right on the streets of the city, say organisers. One of the venues for the festival is a two-kilometre stretch along the river Mandovi and its nearby historic locations and gardens that is set to hold visual play, dance performances, installations with light and colour, photography workshops and live projections. Jaya Ramchandani, Festival Director, says "The Story of Light is a magical playground where we are bringing artists, scientist, educators, philosophers together to create public installations, workshops, talks, all interactive and dynamic for the general public to learn stories that are hidden in science and equations. "2015 being the International Year of Light makes it the perfect time to get these stories out using light as the gateway topic," she says. Jaden Hastings and Melanie King from the UK have created an installation that has been inspired by man's efforts to harness the sun's energy and his material connection to the broader universe. They attempt to create oen of the world's largest cyanotype in the waters of Miramar beach. A cyanotype is a photographic printing process that produces a cyan-blue print. Engineers used the process well into the 20th century as a simple and low-cost process to produce copies of drawings, referred to as blueprints. Mumbai-based artist Arjun Rathi will explore intersections of geometrical forms associated with each chakra of the human body to create installations of light, while Alejandro Borsani from Argentina will give visual proof of the existence of the sub atomic world through his installation 'The Origin of Clouds.' PTI