SpY’s 'Ovoid' Installation Glows With Ethereal Red Light in Riyadh

Since 2021, Riyadh has been transformed each year by the vibrant glow of its dazzling light festival, Noor Riyadh. This year, Madrid-based urban artist SpY unveiled a bold red-hued installation, challenging the boundaries between viewer, environment, and artwork. The piece invites a deeply corporal and sensory experience, transforming perception into a dynamic dialogue.

Beneath Riyadh’s Wadi Hanifah Bridge, ‘Ovoid,’ a striking 35-metre-tall illuminated red structure, reshapes and redefines its surroundings. The installation transforms the space into an interactive canvas, inviting reflection on scale and materiality. Ovoid’s monumental scale and radiance dissolves the frontiers between the physical and the abstract. Despite its simple form, the installation envelops viewers, immersing them in the warmth of its emitted hues.

The theme of 2024 Noor Riyadh delves into the profound connection between Althara (the earth) and Althuraya (the sky), exploring our journey from present realities to lofty aspirations. Reflecting this symbolism, Ovoid’s presence doubles in its reflection on the water beneath the bridge, forming an ephemeral illusion of duality between the tactual and the ethereal.

Photography Credit: Ruben PB