Create Darkness To Help You See The Light

Once upon a time the stars above our heads were among the most wondrous things imaginable. They inspired and helped our ancestors to start mapping the skies and theorise about our place in the universe, aroused wonder and ignited imagination in the creation of mythological tales and celestial legend, and provided light and guidance for intrepid explorers all over the world. It's a shame therefore, that for many people - in fact up to a third of us - the night sky is not so much filled with the twinkling stars of the Milky Way, but with murky smog and other interference from our increasingly urbanised planet.

There is much being done by different companies and groups worldwide to try and raise awareness of the impact that modern living and light pollution is having on our enjoyment of the night sky. One such initiative that has seen a big rise in participation over the last few years is 'Earth Hour', which encourages people to turn off unnecessary lights and electronics for an hour, in a bid to show the impact energy and light consumption has on our lives.

10 years ago a similarly effective campaign was ran in Reykjavik, and spearheaded by Icelandic writer and Environmentalist Andri Snær Magnason. The 'Lights Out Stars On' initiative in 2016 urged residents to turn off all lights for half an hour, and the result was spectacular. Such was the impact that everyone within the city was able to observe the majestic natural light phenomenon that is the aurora borealis. It is an occasion that has been talked about ever since, and this July a special concert was held in partnership with LG to showcase the visuals that experienced.

The Lights Out Stars On concert saw Iceland musicians Ásgeir, GusGus and Ólafur Arnalds take to the stage to one by one play to the 1 thousand strong audience. The real star of the show however was the awesome backdrop. Behind the stage stood a wall of 40 LG OLED screens that during the course of the performances displayed footage of the aurora taken from 10 years ago. Utilising LG's exclusive self emitting OLED pixel technology, the visuals created a wonderfully immersive and stunning display that was carefully crafted to interact and respond exactly with the music.

The OLED pixels contained within LG's newest range of TVs allow for some of the sharpest colours and contrast ratios ever seen in visual entertainment. As each pixel can emit its own light, as oppose to relying on a backlight, every individual colour is delivered in its purest dazzling form against a background of the darkest shades of black.

You can watch footage from the concert in the video above