{"id":34058,"date":"2024-01-30T08:41:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T07:41:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.nobelprizemuseum.se\/?p=34058"},"modified":"2024-09-30T16:25:37","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T14:25:37","slug":"the-best-picture-from-the-light-festival-was-taken-under-the-centralbron-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.nobelprizemuseum.se\/en\/the-best-picture-from-the-light-festival-was-taken-under-the-centralbron-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"The best picture from the light festival was taken under the Centralbron bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"school_subject":[],"school_grade":[],"class_list":["post-34058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press"],"acf":{"ingress":"During the Nobel Week Lights festival in December 2023, a photo contest was held for the third time. Over 400 entries were received, and now a winner has been chosen. Lebanese-born photographer Mohamad Assaad won the contest with his image of an artistic light installation that was inspired by the activity inside scientists\u2019 computers. Meanwhile an estimate shows that more and more people are visiting the light festival. ","info":[{"title":"Press release","link":""},{"title":"30 January 2024","link":""}],"post_block":[{"acf_fc_layout":"text_content","text_block":"
\u201cI am really pleased that so many people took the opportunity to go out into the December cold to visit our light festival,\u201d says Erika Lanner, Director of the Nobel Prize Museum. \u201cIt has also been incredibly inspiring to see all the amazing images submitted to our photo contest.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s contest winner, Mohamad Assaad chose to photograph the work [re|in]verse by Jaime Reyes and the collective re|thread, which was located under Centralbron, a 1.2 km long highway bridge over Lake M\u00e4laren connecting the northern and southern districts of central Stockholm. The work visualises what happens inside scientists\u2019 computers when they work with complex data. The inspiration came from laureate Werner Heisenberg. In 1932, Heisenberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for modelling quantum mechanics, which was then an emerging field of research. He worked with matrices, which are powerful but complex mathematical tools.<\/p>\n
Mohamad Assaad interpreted the artwork as a light in the darkness.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe artwork radiated something deep, dark and unknown while being surrounded by a hopeful light,\u201d says Mohamad Assaad. \u201cIt was not so easy to photograph. I had to stand for a long time to capture the right mood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mohamad Assaad has studied media and has been working as a freelance photographer for various newsrooms since 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very proud about winning this contest,\u201d says Mohamad Assaad. \u201cIt means a lot to me. The Nobel Prize is iconic. It symbolises success and appreciation for the greatest scientists, thinkers and others who work for the greatest benefit to humankind. Their accomplishments make me want to try even harder to achieve even better results.\u201d<\/p>\n
His interest in photography was sparked at an early age by his father, who also worked as a photographer and journalist. He took his first photo when he was seven years old. His father taught him not to just snap a bunch of pictures and hope for the best. Instead, it is important to take in your surroundings and wait for the right moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, photography is like memory. It is history and heritage that is passed on from one generation to another, smoothly and silently, without words to explain,\u201d says Mohamad Assaad.<\/p>\n
Since it was launched in 2020, the Nobel Week Lights festival has attracted more and more Stockholm residents and visitors to venture out on a stroll to view its many installations. The latest count at the Stockholm City Hall showed a significant increase in visits compared to the previous year. In 2023 the number of visits to the festival was estimated at 730,000, compared to 475,000 the previous year. During the light festival, 59 guided tours were offered free of charge in six different languages, all of which quickly became fully booked. Media outlets in 25 different countries reported on the festival, and it continues to attract public engagement on social media \u2012 especially involving the photo contest about capturing the artistic light installations in a creative way. Over 400 entries were received, and ten finalists were selected. The winner was chosen through a vote on the Nobel Prize Museum\u2019s Facebook page.<\/p>\n