Light art installation (large-scale projection), 2000
Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavík, Iceland
*Place in Heaven* is a monumental light art installation by Kaisa Salmi, in which hand-painted images were projected onto the exterior of Hallgrímskirkja from four different directions. The work was commissioned as part of the Reykjavík European Capital of Culture events in 2000.
The piece combines painting, light, architecture, music, and public urban space. The monumental surface of the grey church was continuously transformed by light; the façade alternated between images of a cloudy sky and an abstract motif—hand-painted by Kaisa Salmi—inspired by Alexander Scriabin’s *Prometheus: The Poem of Fire*. A central visual element in the music-inspired painting was the *Luce* color scale, a visual structure linked to Scriabin’s theories on the relationship between color and music.
Work Details
Title: Place in Heaven
Artist: Kaisa Salmi
Year: 2000
Location: Hallgrímskirkja, Reykjavík, Iceland
Technique: Light art installation (high-power projection)
Materials: Hand-painted images, light, and projection technology
Imagery: Cloudy sky and a painting inspired by Scriabin’s *Prometheus*
Musical basis: Alexander Scriabin’s *Prometheus: The Poem of Fire* and its *Luce* color score
Execution: Projected onto the exterior of Hallgrímskirkja from four directions
Nature: Commissioned work
Context: Reykjavík European Capital of Culture 2000
Themes: Light, painting, architecture, music, public space, and environmental art
The church’s grey stone surface served as a kind of gigantic canvas for the work. Images of a cloudy sky and the abstract, music-inspired painting alternated on the building’s surface, momentarily transforming the familiar surroundings into a living, moving image. The church did not merely serve as a backdrop; it became an active part of the visual experience of the work.
A key starting point in Salmi’s practice has been to move painting beyond the confines of the traditional canvas and transform it into a spatial and experiential event. *Place in Heaven* combines this concept with light, architecture, and music: a hand-painted image expands to a monumental scale, taking on new meaning in relation to the building and the surrounding urban space.
The work reflects Salmi’s broader interest in light, public space, environmental art, and the potential of technology to expand the medium of painting. Projected from four directions, the piece momentarily transformed Hallgrímskirkja into a shifting visual surface visible within the urban landscape of Reykjavík.
