LIGHT PAINTING USING THE NIGHT AS A CANVAS

Visual artist Hannu Huhtamo has been creating art with the dark night as his “canvas” and light as his “brush”. Using a technique known as light painting, the Finnish artist makes his works with a photographic technique based on long exposure times that vary from a few seconds to hours. While the camera’s shutter is open, the artist is able to draw in the air by moving different kinds of light sources in front of the camera.

Light painting typically requires a dark environment and it’s usually made at night. Hannu Huhtamo has created numerous light paintings of symmetrical light flowers, fauna, and luminous sculptures which he draws into various locations along the elements of the current environment and ambient lighting. The artist’s light paintings have lit up spaces including forests, abandoned places reclaimed by nature in the city outskirts, and even the Namib Desert.

Hannu Huhtamo says: “The symmetry in nature has always fascinated me more than anything else and I started developing floral shapes in order to create light sculptures that look organic. My light flowers and luminous beings represent hope and a bit of order in the middle of the chaos. I tend to be a bit restless and rush from one thing to another quite fast. That way I might seek balanced things, like symmetry, through my art. It’s more than just creating images, it’s a form of meditation.”

The Helsinki based artist has been light painting since 2008 but it was back in the 1990’s when he shot his first light painting image. Whilst at a gig, Hannu Huhtamo wanted to draw out a pentagram with a lighter so he opened the shutter of his camera and created his first light painting image.

Photographs: Hannu Huhtamo