Exterior photo of The Light
After a major £17m refurbishment and expansion of what was called the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum and Durham Art Gallery, its new incarnation, The Light, has opened in Durham, and I went to find out whether it’s a shining beacon of culture or a sputtering spotlight.
The debut contemporary art exhibition, titled Victory Over the Sun, is a dazzling show of light art featuring some of the biggest names in the field. The largest gallery space features a suspended work by Olafur Eliasson, based on a remnant of an exploded star, and as it spins, the interplay of light and shadow leaves you mesmerised. While behind it, Cerith Wyn Evans ‘squiggle’-like work reflects the movement of performers in Japanese Noh theatre, and a Tracey Emin neon in her handwriting exclaims the deeply personal message of ‘It’s a crime to live with the person you don’t love’.
Chila Burman’s cheeky neon monkey hangs from the ceiling, Liz West’s lit-up prisms change colour as you walk past them, reflecting on Newton’s early experiments on light refraction; and Ivan Navarro’s floor piece that appears to be a hole that goes on forever is an enjoyable optical illusion.
Stardust particle (2014), by Olafur Eliasson
The main space ends with two light switches from humorous artists, with Ceal Floyer’s projection of a light switch onto a space on the wall where you’d often find a switch, bookended by David Shrigley’s film of a finger flicking a switch on and off. In a nod to the North-East of England’s history, there is a replica of Joseph Swan’s incandescent lamp. Swan was born in the historic county of Durham and is just as responsible for the invention of the light bulb as Edison, even if he doesn’t get as much of the credit.
Highlights include Katie Paterson’s light bulbs designed to recreate the glow of moonlight, with a shelf of bulbs collectively shining for 66 years, the average life expectancy in the world at the time it was made. Visitors can scan their fingerprint to be added to a screen full of them, in a work by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer in a nod to the surveillance culture we live in, the irony that we’ll all then take a picture of the work with a phone we likely unlock using our biometric data.
As is the nature of light art, many of the works grab your attention immediately, such as the blinding light from Katrin Hanusch’s dozens of broken laptop screens that emit a blinding light, which will have you reaching for a pair of sunglasses. However, other works are much more subtle, such as Maarten Baas‘ piece above the cafe space where rubbish sweepers move detritus around to form the hands of a clock. It’s a twelve-hour durational piece, so the time in the work always matches the actual time.
Untitled (to Don Judd, colourist) 1-5 (1987) by Dan Flavin
The hits keep rolling with a selection of Dan Flavin’s t-shaped fluorescent light arrangements, Stuart Haygarth’s chandelier made of other lamps, and Steve McQueen’s work that reads ‘Remember Me’ in black, which ties in neatly with the military history exhibited on the floor below.
The permanent part of the museum recognises the contribution of the Durham Light Infantry, telling the stories of the regiment and the individuals who have served in it, from its formation in 1758, through the two World Wars and as recently as Afghanistan. It’s an important part of local history and will likely draw in a completely different demographic to the contemporary art programme, thus allowing The Light to appeal to as broad an audience as possible.
On the other side of the city sits the home of the city’s archives and records at The Story, where people can access Durham’s history and also view an exhibition about the city itself.
Returning to The Light, I can confirm that the refurbishment looks great and that it has opened with a blockbuster exhibition that carries curatorial weight while also appealing to a diverse audience. If it can programme other exhibitions of this calibre, then I’ll definitely be returning for future visits. Visitors, prepare to be dazzled.
The Light in Durham is now open to the public, and entrance to the museum and its permanent exhibition ‘We Are The Durhams: The Durham Light Infantry Exhibition’ is free.
Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light is on until 17th January 2027 and entry is ticketed.
The Story is also free to visit.
All Photos ©The Light
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Art Critic for both FAD and Londonist. See as many exhibitions as possible and write reviews, opinion pieces and a weekly top 5 for FAD.