Last May we participated in the Water Light Festival 2026 in Brixen (Italy) with our piece On Blank Pages.
The installation was presented in front of the city’s cathedral, as part of an edition dedicated to reflecting on peace under the theme “Imagine Peace.” For this occasion, we built a large circular wall of free expression measuring 12 meters in diameter and 3 meters in height, covered with thousands of blank pages illuminated from within, on which visitors could freely write and draw.
As in previous versions of the piece, we wanted to create a space where people could freely share opinions, questions, concerns, or proposals related to the theme proposed by the festival. Little by little, the pages filled with texts and drawings about peace, coexistence, contemporary conflicts, and the ways in which we imagine a better future.
Over the course of the festival, contributions accumulated progressively. Words, drawings, and messages covered the pages, creating a large collage of anonymous and intimate interventions. The occasional action of the wind moved the sheets and altered the reading of the whole, allowing the installation to constantly offer new compositions to those who visited it. For this version, we used an ecological water-resistant paper capable of withstanding the weather conditions throughout the festival without any problems.
As is often the case with this piece, participation began in the early morning and continued well into the night. The lighting transformed the installation after dark, but during the day the written pages continued to attract visitors in the same way. On this occasion, the installation coincided with numerous activities organized in the square, which encouraged many children to approach and intervene the notebooks. Their drawings, messages, and spontaneous ideas brought a special energy to the piece and entertained us throughout the festival.
On Blank Pages is a piece that we have carried out in numerous cities and countries over the years. Each new version incorporates the concerns and sensibilities of the people who inhabit it. In Brixen, the pages ended up gathering hundreds of reflections around a question as complex as it is necessary: how to imagine peace.
We would like to thank the entire Water Light Festival team for inviting us to take part in this edition and for accompanying us throughout the process. Special thanks to Nika, Hanna and Simon for their trust, support and help in bringing the project to life.
