Fire Light Sky

A look back and fantastic new views upwards – that was Fire Light Sky. There was 'the fire' in 2006 in the lower area of the gasometer. An exhibition here showed the development from the industrial building to the most unusual exhibition hall in Europe. Large-format photographs and exhibits told the exciting story of the Gasometer – from the era when it was the largest gas holder of its kind in Europe to the spectacular space for art, starting with the first exhibition in the Gasometer in 1994: 'Fire and Flame'.

When the Berlin artist Christina Kubisch entered the Gasometer for the first time, she could not help thinking about Friedrich Schinkel's design for the stage set of the opera 'The Magic Flute'. In 1816 the Prussian master builder created a blue dome for the Mozart opera, completely covered in brightly shining stars which, arranged in rows as if on invisible strings, faded upwards into infinity. "This image spontaneously sprang to mind when I entered the Gasometer in Oberhausen for the first time", says Christina Kubisch. "The Gasometer became a chamber of light linked to sound, the breadth, atmosphere and material structure of which was not to be altered but only emphasised by the non-material media of light and sound."

In fact Light Sky is today the cosmic pantheon of the Gasometer. Two light circles and 24 light lines, natural and instrumental sounds invite you on a sensuous journey through the gigantic, more than 100 metre-high room. The light lines follow a strictly geometrical course vertically along the walls and as a result of the room's dimensions they produce the impression that they taper upwards. It seems as if Light Sky has provided the industrial cathedral with its dome.