RIYADH: For filmmaker and artist Roman Hill, Noor Riyadh — the festival of light art which took place this year from Nov. 20 to Dec. 6 under the theme “In the Blink of an Eye” — is “a rare opportunity to create truly monumental, immersive work.”  

Hill’s “Inflow:Outflow” consisted of two 15x7-meter projections in Riyadh’s STC metro station. He described it in a statement to Arab News as “a visual poem” that “celebrates universal movement.” 

“At every moment, everything — from the cells in our bodies to the microorganisms around us, and all the way up to the stars and galaxies — is engaged in a continuous dance of creation and destruction,” Hill elaborated. 

His installation, according to the Noor Riyadh website, “translates microscopic realities into monumental projections. Illumination magnifies chemical reactions filmed through polarized light, expanding them to an architectural scale. Color and textures cascade like slow galaxies, enveloping surfaces in living pigment. 

“By revealing the sublime within the small, the work bridges science and mysticism,” it continues. “Hill’s imagery, neither abstract nor representational, invites contemplation of unseen beauty.” 

The theme of this year’s festival “resonates” with his work, Hill said, “because it reminds us that, in a single instant, we are both observing and participating in this vast cosmic choreography.  

“The installation invites viewers to feel themselves at the center of this dance, even if only for a moment of heightened attention,” he continued. “For me, that moment of contemplation — like suddenly noticing a sunrise or a sky full of stars — is where an artwork truly stays with somebody. 

“This fascination with light and the universe is at the core of my practice, and runs through many of my projects,” he added. 

Indeed, he has just finished directing a new French series for European TV channel ARTE telling “the entire history of the universe — from the Big Bang to the very end of time — through the voice of light itself,” which he hopes to have dubbed into Arabic. All the imagery was created in Hall’s studio “using only physical and chemical phenomena, without CGI or AI.” 

Light art, Hall said, is “universal, immediate, and speaks to people beyond language or cultural background.” He believes Noor Riyadh is playing an important cultural role. 

“It brings together artists from many continents and very different cultures and places them in dialogue with Saudi artists … This mix, and the scale of the festival, make it one of the most exciting platforms for light-based work today.”