Projection mapping lies very much on the periphery of lighting design and sits somewhere between the world of theatre and events lighting. It is it’s own thing. In this podcast we speak to someone who was there from the start of this phenomenon. Learning his trade in France during the late 80’s, from a company responsible for the mega shows of Jean-Michel Jarre, Ross Ashton came to the UK in 1994, setting up ‘The Projection Studio’ at a time when worldwide the number of people doing what he was able, you could count on one hand.
With a plethora of ‘vanity projects’ and in a world of ever dwindling resources, might there be an argument for replacing some traditional architectural lighting with more of this type? Without doubt it shouldn’t be on every street corner, or even switched on that frequently. The beauty of this light-art (like finding an decent old Etonian) lies in its surprise; its rarity.
Projection mapping’s expertise lies in it’s ability to transform architecture and our visual landscapes; (often with audio accompaniment). It’s as close as you can get to street cinema or ‘theatre-through-light’. One word of caution however, with technology moving apace and offering greater accessibility to all of us, in my humble opinion its best to leave this one to the experts.