72|A FONDO “Light is the soul of space and without it space is dead, so dead that it ceases to exist”. not slowly. “Unhurriedly, the eyes pay attention to the shades, to what you do not see if you do not look; the things that matter the most” 7. My photographs aim at capturing those everyday moments that transport us to a state where the heart takes the lead; this are the moments that give meaning to our life. As Pessoa said: “unconsciousness is the essence of life. If the heart could think, it would stop” 8. Light, in itself, generates emotion. It appears unexpectedly making us stop, think and go inside of us. These are moments when we do not reason. Light carries us to moments of peace, contemplation and admiration for the curious phenomena we all live but seldom see. A child discovers light as soon as he is born and is fascinated by it from those very first instants of life. A mother brings him forth into a world he does not know and she wants to share with him, his constant exploration and discovery. She finds him playing with it, trying to catch a potent stream of light that falls nearby. Playfully he steps on it, walks through it and he is surprised to see that his steps cannot make it disappear, because when trying to walk a path of light, light turns into a path on his body and continues its trajectory oblivious to his game. The child is surprised by sundown. He runs on the beach to say goodbye to the sun in a magical game of adoration of a pagan god. He cries when the sun disappears in fear that it will not return the next day. He is mesmerized by the light of a candle trying to understand were all this magic comes from. It makes him feel safe during the night and the soft light helps him sleep. The child perceives light from a state of innocence, without being carried away. It is the same state from which an adult perceives light after becoming aware of it in a moment that becomes a form of void which calms him and brings him peace. Light is the soul of space and without it space is dead, so dead that it ceases to exist. As a gift of light we observe the physical world. Louis Kahn defines light as “creator of everything that is” 9. Today, it is thought that vision originates when reflected light hits the retina. Regardless of how wonderful a place is, the element that facilitates the creation of an atmosphere for said place is light. If light is not working, the space will remain a desire to be something without being able to fulfil it. On the other hand, when light is managed and given adequate treatment it is possible to achieve the ideal space. It is one of the few things in life that do not depend on our economic status; it is within reach of anyone that wants to use it. Natural light is the only material that we can use any time we want; it is free. Light arouses fascination in all of man’s branches of knowledge. After all we have covered, I am aware that there are many more outfits for me to wear in this journey, the ones of: psychologist, biologist, optometrist, philosopher and theologist. Some I have already wore. Lights and shadows has two clear purposes: the first one is to awaken in my readers an interest in light, and the second one is making them see light with fresh eyes with the intention of altering their perception because we only see what we know. As Eduardo Chillida says: “the vision is clear with the eye full of what is seen” 10. For more information: www.omharquitectura.es Watch the screening of “Luces y Sombras. Dibujos de Luz” (Lights and Shadows. Drawings of Light) in iCandela.com Notes: 1 Olvido Muñoz Heras, Conditions of na- tural lighting in museums built in Spain in the eighties and nineties. The light in the museums that I saw come to life, doctoral thesis, University of Sevilla 2006. 2 Olvido Muñoz Heras, Lights and sha- dows. Contemporary Spanish Museums. Publishing Services of Sevilla 2012. 3 Olvido Muñoz Heras, “Light in the prin- cipal art museums built in Spain at the end of the XX century”. Rev. Lightecture no1. 2011. Olvido Muñoz Heras, “Proposal of the maximum natural lighting factor admis- sible for vertical parameters in spanish museum rooms”. Rev. Luces CEI no42. 2011. 4 Joan Miró Foundation, Barcelona; Nacional Museum of Roman Art, Mérida; Centro Atlántico Center of Modern Art, Las Palmas of Gran Canaria; Institute Valenciano of Modern Art, Las Palmas of Gran Canaria; Institute Valenciano of Modern Art, Valencia; Joan Miró Founda- tion, Palma de Mallorca; Museum Thyssen Bornemisza, Madrid; Museum of Con- temporary Art of Barcelona; Museum of Bellas Artes of La Coruña, Museum Con- temporary Art of Santiago de Compos- tela; Museum of Bellas Artes of Zamora; Museum of Bellas Artes of Castellón; Museum Guggenheim, Bilbao. 5 Fernando Pessoa, Book of Disquietude, publishing house El acantilado, 2002. P.102. 6 Jose Manuel Navia, “The Raw Material of the photographers is time”, interview march, 7 2012, www.quesabesde.com/ noticias/jose-manuel-navia-entrevis- ta_8586. 7 Alberto Morell Sixto, “...Unhurriedly”, Learning to think, Alberto Campo Baeza. Publishing House Nobuko 2008, p.85. 8 Fernando Pessoa, Book of Disquietude, publishing house El acantilado, 2002. P.15. 9 Luis Kahn, “Silence and Light”, in A.A.V.V. Kahn libraries, book edited by the College of Architects of Cataluña in 1989, on the occasion of the exposition “Transformations: Louis Kahn library proyects”. 10 Eduardo Chillida, Writings, publishing house La fabrica 2005.