Cover Gerry Hofstetter cast an image of a tiger onto the northern stretch of the Great Wall of China (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
Gerry Hofstetter cast an image of a tiger onto the northern stretch of the Great Wall of China (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
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Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter, known for illuminating the Egyptian pyramids, Paris’s Arc de Triomphe and icebergs in Antarctica, transformed the Great Wall of China into a captivating fusion of light and sound to celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland
Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter is known for his light installations—he’s illuminated the Egyptian pyramids, the Coliseum in Rome and icebergs in Antarctica. Late last year, he took on the challenge of lighting up a stretch of the 20,000km-long Great Wall of China and surrounding architecture with five creatures, both mythical and real: horses, pandas, tigers, peacocks and dragons.
The project, marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Switzerland, was in partnership with UBS, the Beijing government and the Beijing Music Festival.
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A light installation on the northern stretch of the Great Wall of China by Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
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Staging a light show on a Unesco world heritage site was no easy feat. Hofstetter says there were strict rules as to where he could place projectors, and the authorities had to review and approve the images; he was only allowed to feature five animals in the designs. The selected creatures are all auspicious symbols in Chinese culture; the horse is the next zodiac animal. “Then there were other things you had to consider: the weather conditions, the money, the time and the logistics of getting electricity,” he says. “Pushing the green button to light it up is just 0.0005 per cent of my job.”
A light installation at the buildings near the Great Wall of China by Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
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But he is not easily put off, as he believes firmly in the power of light. “You cannot see sound. You cannot see the temperature,” he says. “Light is the only visible energy; light gives life—think photosynthesis; and light is hope, be that a sense of comfort in the daylight or light art on monuments that connects cultures.”
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Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
