Ljós is a live-media performance that delves into the genesis of life, taking audiences on a mesmerising and enigmatic journey. As part of fuse*'s expansive trilogy of live-media performances, which includes Ljós (2014), Dökk (2017), and Sál (2025), this work serves as the inaugural chapter in a narrative tracing the journey of birth, existence, and decline of a life. With its slower pace and shorter duration, Ljós serves as a luminous gateway to a dreamlike experience, guiding viewers through the transition from a state of smallness, protection, and vulnerability to a burst of energy and vital force, heralding the promise of the future.

Ljós (Icelandic for ‘light’) has been conceived in continuity with the research carried out by fuse* in the field of digital and performative arts, which explores the deep connection between light, space, sound and movement. In Ljós, the performer becomes an intermediary to a parallel reality, introducing the viewers to a surreal and dreamlike space, a dimension freed of natural constraints such as gravity or time. In line with the subsequent performances in the trilogy, the dancer takes advantage of aerial techniques to immerse viewers in a parallel realm, heightening the sense of experiencing a magical and surreal encounter. 

As mentioned, Ljós was the first performance that paved the way for the subsequent development of Dökk, a piece that profoundly shaped the studio's history. From a technical and production standpoint, Ljós was entirely developed using Processing, a programming language designed specifically for electronic arts, new media art, and visual design. For this reason, the aesthetic of the piece remains minimal and essential, within a monochrome colour palette of white and black. 

The scene is made of a projection system casting the visuals on the back of the performer: just like in the following performances, the visuals of Ljós react in real-time to the movements of the dancer, and so also does the soundtrack. Thanks to a Kinect placed above the scene, real-time data is collected which allows the modification of all scenic elements, amplifying the performer's interpretation of the piece. Through an ever-changing, interconnected system, the show gives life to a shape-shifting universe: in the first section of the show, it takes the form of a liquid reminiscent of a foetus' amniotic fluid, protecting and supporting the performer. It then evolves to a landscape made of violent explosions and transformations, which takes the dancer closer and in direct contact with the ground and the Earth. Moving, broken lines give way to grids and geometrical formations, then disappear as particles lose in obscurity. In Ljós, the movements of the performer echo throughout the space, intensifying the dynamism of the visuals and creating a seemingly three-dimensional scene made of the interconnected coexistence of elements.