Italian artist Quayola brings new life to Gaudí's Casa Batlló with 'Arborescent' light show

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Barcelona's iconic Casa Batlló was a unique canvas last weekend for Italian multimedia artist Quayola.

The Gaudí-designed UNESCO world heritage site was the setting for an incredible free of charge show that mixed pulsating electronic music with art and architecture.

Over two nights, every half hour, thousands of people waited patiently in silence as Quayola's illuminating work lit up the unmistakeable façade.

Titled Arborescent, the projection mapping artwork paid homage to nature, mimicking natural behaviours and dynamics of the botanical world.

For Quayola, Gaudí’s architectural philosophy provided a deep source of inspiration: "One thing that really struck me about Gaudí's work is that his buildings don’t seem designed and constructed like any other building. It really feels like something has grown out of a natural process. So to me, the tree is kind of a symbol, a sort of analogy of organic growth and complexity. It’s a symbol for the inspiration that I think drove Gaudi into building the house."

Quayola, a former DJ, composed an original soundtrack to accompany the mapping and work as an audio guide to the blossoming of life within architecture. Blending traditional instrumentation with algorithmic composition, the music heightened the sense of organic movement during the spectacle.

"My work is rooted in technology. I like to explore how technology is changing the way we look at the world. And I somehow explore several traditions several historical, pictorial, cultural traditions in which I tend to go back. So you could say that my work also, it’s some kind of tension and relationships between past, present and future," Quayola told Euronews Culture.

"Now nature can ultimately be this kind of universal, infinite inspiration across generations, across technologies, across languages. The facade doesn’t even need further celebration. It’s already great. I think this is more a vehicle to do something new, to perhaps inspire some of the ideas that generated this work in the first place."

Quayola follows in illustrious footsteps as the artist chosen to realise this year's mapping. Last year Argentinian digital artist Sofía Crespo succeeded two consecutive runs by Turkish artist Refik Anadol.

A perfect fit for the project

Given Quayola's approach and promotion of nature throughout his work, Gary Gautier, CEO of Casa Batlló says he was a perfect fit for the project and its principles: “Quayola merges the classical with the modern and decodes nature with a personal perspective and unique aesthetic. Moreover, his work has a sculptural component that is ideal for enhancing a façade like Casa Batlló, full of reliefs and symbolism.”

Quayola was right to say that it's not really something that you can connect to as a video, but rather more as some kind of sculptural, object.

His mapping did indeed provoke deep contemplation about architecture, heritage and the inspiration of design. As humankind faces new challenges posed by expanding populations and climate change, perhaps some of the answers can be found within the natural world around us.

Watch the video in the player above for more of our interview with Quayola.