EKKO
Copenhagen – 2019

EKKO is an auditory light installation consisting of four 32m high LED masts standing in the corners of a 120 x 120m square. Originally set up as a site-specific art work, EKKO lit up the central area of Refshaleøen in Copenhagen with a total of 27.000 LED pixels for the whole of February 2019.

The site-specific installation unfolds in four light columns from the former shipyard Burmeister & Wain (B&W) on the square in front of the Refshaleøen Island Welding Hall, now home to the international art centre Copenhagen Contemporary. The four light columns measure 30m in height and each marks a corner of the slipway where the giant industrial ships were built. In its heyday, B&W was Denmark’s largest workplace, producing ships round the clock and the constantly illuminated island was visible all over the city. Vertigo brings renewed focus to the Refshaleøen Island on the Copenhagen horizon by reinterpreting the light that formerly characterised this area – visually echoing the past.

EKKO revives the island’s original four light columns and illuminates the present-day cultural and bustling life now unfolding in the old shipyard area. Each light column is also a sound source coupled to the work’s lighting. A total of 27.000 luminous LED points flash spectacularly in sync with the auditive spectrum spanning from brief notes to soft flowing sound images in a pulsating loop. The visual and auditive experience is inspired by the shipyard welding flame – from the blue centre to the outer orange glow. Thus, the experience of the work is twofold: one side can only be experienced at close hand while the other is visible from Copenhagen’s city roofs as far away as Bispebjerg.

The outdoor light work was open every day during the period 1 February – 24 February 2019 between the hours 18 and 24. EKKO is presented by Copenhagen Contemporary and Copenhagen Light Festival in collaboration with the Refshaleøen Island’s Property Association.