ZSOLNAY LIGHT ART VIDEO MAPPING COMPETITION 2026
2-5. July 2026. every day 9.30 pm-12 am
The festival’s most anticipated event, the Zsolnay Light Art Video Mapping Competition, is going to transform the façade of the Pécs Cathedral into a monumental light canvas every evening. This year, artists from Italy, China, and Bulgaria compete for the audience’s votes, with works deeply inspired by the visual language of Vasarely’s Op Art legacy.
Our international video mapping competition is free and open to everyone. The projections can be viewed on the southern façade of the Cathedral building on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings according to the following schedule:
THURSDAY & FRIDAY & SATURDAY
21:30 The Vasarely-inspired works of the 3 finalist light artists, and the mapping by Glowing Bulbs, created in memory of Ferenc Martyn.
22:00 The Vasarely-inspired works of the 3 finalist light artists, and the mapping by Glowing Bulbs, created in memory of Ferenc Martyn.
22:30 The Vasarely-inspired works of the 3 finalist light artists, and the mapping by Glowing Bulbs, created in memory of Ferenc Martyn.
23:00 The best award-winning works of the past 10 years and The Book of Jonah.
SUNDAY
21:30 The Vasarely-inspired works of the 3 finalist light artists, and the mapping by Glowing Bulbs, created in memory of Ferenc Martyn.
22:00 Announcement of the results and award ceremony.
22:30 The audience award-winning work of the 2026 competition — followed by the best award-winning works of the past 10 years.
As the closing piece, Kiégő Izzók’s iconic mapping creation “The Book of Jonah” will be shown.
Due to the intense light and sound effects, the event is not recommended for visitors who are sensitive to such effects.
Martina Stella (IT): Leyre
The work titled Leyre pays tribute to Victor Vasarely through a distinctive typographic composition.
Martina Stella explores the relationship between text and image. Inspired by Vasarely’s plastic alphabets, as well as the works Altair (1955) and Leyre (1956), she created an original typeface that becomes the animated graphic material of the artwork.
At first, the viewer perceives only abstract geometric forms. Through the visual effects of op art, the text gradually reveals itself, and it becomes clear that what initially seemed like pure abstraction was, from the very beginning, a language.
The project is the result of a long-term research process: it began with a copy of a Vasarely book found in 2013, continued through a visit to the Vasarely Museum in Budapest, and deepened with the study of the artist’s Noir–Blanc period. Out of this process emerged a tribute to Vasarely’s legacy.
Music/sound: Gabriele Stera & Maru Barucco
MP-STUDIO (BG): Modular Entropy
What happens when architecture, light, color, and sound merge into a single living system?
MODULAR ENTROPY pays tribute to Victor Vasarely’s visionary concept of Polychrome City while reinterpreting its core ideas through the lens of contemporary digital art.
The work initially appears as a strict black-and-white structure built from elements of Vasarely’s “Plastic Alphabet.” As color gradually emerges, the system comes to life, transforming a static order into a dynamic and evolving perceptual environment.
Visual patterns become not only visible but also audible. Through a process of real-time sonification, visual structures are translated into sound, allowing the same system to be experienced simultaneously as image and audio.
Built upon generative processes, the artwork functions as a semi-autonomous system in which new variations continuously unfold over time.
Through a QR code, visitors can access the artwork’s XR extension, enabling the system to expand beyond the physical building and continue through their own devices. This gesture reflects Vasarely’s vision of art as an accessible and active presence within the urban environment.
MODULAR ENTROPY is therefore more than an artwork—it is an evolving experience in which architecture becomes a dynamic interface, and form derives its meaning from its capacity for continuous transformation.
Music/sound: MP-STUDIO
SKGPLUS (CN): Three-Body Signal
What happens when Vasarely’s Op Art legacy meets the cosmic vision of The Three-Body Problem?
In this light installation, Pécs Cathedral is no longer merely a historical monument, but a constantly transforming plastic space bending across dimensions. Geometric distortions, optical illusions, and pulsating lights evoke the idea that reality may not be as solid and stable as it appears.
The artwork connects Vasarely’s vision of Plast-Cité with the dimensional philosophy of The Three-Body Problem universe: a place where space can be reshaped, information becomes visible, and art turns into a shared experience accessible to everyone.
Because perhaps the world is nothing more than information — and vision is its translation.
Music/Sound: AudioJungle
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Alongside the Zsolnay Light Art Mapping Competition, audiences can experience a unique visual journey as part of the Irish Focus Programme: a homage animation inspired by the abstract graphics and ink drawings of Ferenc Martyn.
Glowing Bulbs: Threads of Thought - Hommage à Ferenc Martyn
The artists of Glowing Bulbs elevate the original works into a new dimension, transforming Martyn’s distinctive lines into three-dimensional forms, associative spaces, and new layers of meaning. Both a tribute and a reinterpretation, the animation invites viewers on a visual voyage through the unique abstract universe of Ferenc Martyn.
Visual: Glowing Bulbs
Music, sound design: Csilla Domonkos
Solo violin: Zoltán Lantos
Sound mixer: Péter Balogh
The work is being presented as part of the Irish Focus program and was supported by the Embassy of Ireland in Hungary.
Each evening, we’ll close the day with a selection of the best award-winning works from the past decade of Zsolnay Light Art, followed by the epic Glowing Bulbs, familiar to festival visitors and now considered traditional, with the Book of Jonah.
Due to the strong light and sound effects, these events are not recommended to visitors who are sensitive to it!
HOST + PROFESSIONAL PARTNER:
The collaborating professional partner of Zsolnay Light Art and the host of the competition is the group of Hungarian visual artists, Glowing Bulbs, boasting a history of more than 25 years.
