Ad Lucem

“Lightyear 2026” opens with “Ad Lucem” (To the Light) – an artistic and scientific collaboration between artist Cecilia Ömalm and professor of astronomy Göran Östlin – a project that beautifully unites art and science in an exploration of how light from distant galaxies connects us across time and space.

Experience captivating, deep-blue photographic works created with cyanotype – a unique technique invented by astronomer John Herschel, where iron salts mixed to result in UV-sensitive solutions, and sunlight combine to form images in characteristic shades of blue.

Ömalm and Östlin recreate the light of the Universe using both historical glass plate negatives and modern digital image sensors. Each work is hand-printed, and when sunlight develops these celestial images, it becomes a poetic act – a rebirth of light from the same sky the telescopes once pointed toward.

“Ad Lucem” at the Round Tower marks the duo’s largest solo exhibition to date, featuring 40 works – including a new piece inspired by Ole Rømer’s groundbreaking measurements of the speed of light – presented in a design that mirrors the tower’s shape and evokes the atmosphere of an observatory.