The ELIOS project is a site-specific, sustainable art installation designed to enhance the natural beauty of the Marmore Falls (Terni), recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project is part of the activities promoted by WP3 ‘Light Art for UNESCO’ of the ECO-Light Project, in collaboration with the Italian Design Institute and the Polytechnic University of Marche.

The work aims to integrate technological innovation, light art and respect for the environment through the installation of five kinetic mirrors programmed to reflect and project sunlight onto the waters of the waterfalls, creating a delicate and transformative immersive visual experience.

2. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK

The ELIOS installation consists of five kinetic mirrors, each independently programmed, capable of rotating on multiple axes thanks to solar-powered electromechanical mechanisms. The mirrors capture and reflect sunlight towards specific points of the waterfall, generating dynamic light effects on the surface of the water and in the cloud of atomised particles that forms in the fringe area.

From a visual point of view, the work creates a poetic balance between visible and invisible reflections, depending on the position of the observer. The combination of solar refraction and water vapour generates ephemeral and constantly evolving three-dimensional light structures.

Curated by Gisella Gellini and Gaetano Corica.