These artists, longlisted for the Aesthetica Art Prize 2025, all work with light as a central element in their practice, using it to shape images, environments and experiences. Their approaches range from immersive installations and interactive digital systems to photographic works that rely on specific natural conditions such as fog, snow and darkness. Across the list, light becomes a way to explore technology, the natural world and human participation. Together, these practices show how light can be constructed, programmed, recorded or simply encountered — offering both immersive spectacle and moments of stillness, and reflecting a broad range of contemporary approaches to working with light today.
Constellations
Scottish-born lens-based designer Alia Mobarik combines analogue and digital processes, including cyanotypes, film photography, and phonotropes, to create richly layered compositions. Inspired by astronomy, geology, and environmental studies, their work addresses sustainability and light pollution. Mobarik’s practice evokes wonder and connection, inviting viewers to reflect on humanity’s impact on the environment. They create immersive visuals that resonate with shared ecological concerns.
Nidium
SPLACES.STUDIO is an interdisciplinary art and science collective bringing together artists, engineers, researchers and scientists to explore the intersection of nature, technology and art. The studio creates interactive installations that transform natural phenomena – such as wind, sky and motion – into immersive sculptures. Their work reimagines post-anthropocentric relationships, inviting engagements that challenge human-centered perspectives and foster deeper connections with the environment.
The EveryPerson
G23LAB merges innovative design with advanced production techniques to create immersive light-based art and sculpture. Their collaborative approach combines creative expression, geometric precision and culturally resonant references, pushing the boundaries of medium and imagination. Founded by Gervase Clifton-Bligh, a visionary known for developing pioneering virtual products for NASA, Amazon and the Bank of England, the studio seamlessly integrates technology and aesthetics.
Seph Li was born in Beijing in 1988. He has a mixed background in technology and design, and a keen interest in interactivity led him into the field of media arts. He searches for dynamic equilibriums in nature and re-imagines them into poetic interactive experiences through digital technology. In his interactive systems, the artist defines the rule, the content is co-created by algorithmic code and visitors are invited into the system to co-create generative content along with algorithmic code.
Flux
Uwe Langmann is a self-taught artist from Germany, inspired by concepts of Zen Buddhism and Japanese arts like shodo and sumi-e. His photographs are an invitation to find inner peace, as well as to foster an awareness for the beauty that surrounds us everyday. He takes pictures in specific light and weather conditions, utilising snow, fog and diffused light from skies to craft a painterly aesthetic. Langmann is passionate about inventing new ways to make the underlying elements of images tangible for viewers.
Words: Emma Jacob
The Aesthetica Art Prize is open for entries. Submit your work. Deadline 31 August.
Image Credits:
1&6. Alia Mobarik, Constallations. Image courtesy of the artist.
2. Splaces Studio, Nidium (2023-2024). Image courtesy of the artist.
3. G23LAB, The EveryPerson (2023).
4. Seph Li, Galaxy Orchestra, installation 10x10x6m, (2022).
5. Uwe Langmann, Flux, (2018).
