A view of Jun Ong's light installation titled 'Polaris' at this year's Amsterdam Light Festival. Photo: Merce Wouthuysen
Malaysian artist Jun Ong’s light installation, Polaris, inspired by the North Star and the graceful curves of boat sails, stands out as one of the highlights of this year’s Amsterdam Light Festival.
Each year, the festival transforms the Dutch capital into a luminous wonderland, where art and light converge across canals and cobblestone streets. Ong reveals Polaris - situated near the iconic Amsterdam Centraal station - is inspired by Amsterdam’s rich maritime history and modern vibrancy.
The Amsterdam Light Festival, themed "Rituals" this year, runs through Jan 19, 2025.
“Light festivals are common in Europe due to the long dark hours during winter,” says Ong, 36, in an email interview.
“To see the work slowly assembled using cranes and rigs floating on water is surreal (bearing in mind the temperature was 1°C with rain). I felt this exemplifies the narrative of the artwork, capturing the true spirit and characteristics of the waterway-filled historic city," he added.
Ong's light installation 'Polaris' is positioned near the iconic Amsterdam Centraal station. Photo: Jun Ong
The Kuala Lumpur-based Ong had submitted entries to the Amsterdam Light Festival before, but without success. This year, however, his persistence paid off.
This year’s edition features 27 artworks created by 22 artists (and collectives) whose luminous installations weave stories, spark imagination, and blur the line between reality and fantasy.
Keeping the glow
It has been a “glowing” year for Ong, who also showcased his indoor installation Krystal Valley - circling the world of crystals, the healing business and Klang Valley's history - at the National Art Gallery (NAG) in Kuala Lumpur as part of its Single exhibition series (from September to November).
This year-end season, Polaris takes Ong back to an outdoor setting, where the public in Amsterdam is poised to be captivated by its inspiring design.
It holds special significance for Ong, a London-trained trained architect who has discovered his passion in the art world. Polaris reimagines his 2015 outdoor installation Star, originally displayed in an unfinished five-story building in Butterworth, Penang.
“The piece retains its distinctive “dodecahedron” geometry with 12 long spikes, but for this iteration, I collaborated with a fabrication team in Amsterdam to redesign the structure. Unlike the 2015 version, which relied on the building’s framework for support, this version is a free-standing creation," says Ong.
In addition to 'Polaris,' Ong's work 'Halo' is also being showcased at the Yuejin Art Museum Festival in Taiwan. Photo: Jun Ong
Polaris grounds Ong's Star, transforming Amsterdam’s skyline into a temporal glitch. The structure captures the city’s dynamic rhythms – its waterways, bustling streets, and cycling culture – while evoking the grace of sail masts and shipping cables from Amsterdam’s maritime history. Its points link key elements of the city – the bridge, water, and quayside – creating a seamless blend of ancient and modern rituals.
“I took inspiration from boat mast structure, learning from the ways boat masts are erected on water and secured using tensile steel cables. This also ensures that the work looks sleek and almost invisible during the day and comes to life at night when it glows against the reflection of the waters," says Ong.
In addition to the Amsterdam Light Festival, Ong's installation Halo is also being shown at the Yuejin Art Museum Festival in Taiwan. The piece will be on display (until Feb 16, 2025) at Xiu De Bai Pavilion, a former Buddhist temple built in 1919 in the historic town of Yan Shui.
"I hope to continue bringing the Star series to different cities around the world, reimagining the work with unique forms, materials, and structures inspired by each location," shared Ong.
"This year, I had the opportunity to recreate it in three cities: Polaris in Amsterdam, Halo in Tainan, and Oura in Shenzhen, which will be a permanent installation and my first work in China," he concluded.
His light installation Star was nominated for World’s Best in Spatial Art at the Media Architecture Biennale 2016 (MAB16) in Sydney.
