The Italian artist Stefano Cagol started his light crusade from northern Italiy in the beginning of March. With his truck loaded with a several-ton heavy generator and a floodlight projector, he has put his light beam on the borders of Europe and tried to make people consider what they are and why they are put there.
His project is called “The end of the border (of the mind)” and it is on one side focusing on how the presence of borders are actively shaping communities world wide. It opens for numerous interpretations varying from the emotional understanding of geography, critical views on political borderlines and disputed delimitations. In a way Cagol is questioning the whole existence of the border.
What Cagol see as even more important is the symbolic journey.
“This project is an inner journey, a psychological process or a mental crusade to the end of the limits”, says Cagol.
Kirkenes on the border to Russia is the end of this voyage. Here he has aimed his beacon to the other side of the river and the fjord, creating a bridge of light toward the Russian side.
The project is part of Barents Art Triennale 2013, “Open air playground” which is curated by the art curators of Pikene på Broen. Barents art Triennale 2013 is focusing on art in the public spaces of border zones.
Cagol has been photographing and filming his light beam all through his journey. Much of this material is published on his web site www.endofborder.com. See our video interview with Cagol.
