On June 29, 2012 in Vitebsk in the exhibition hall of the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore (Town Hall) was opened the International Exhibition of Art Holograms “Holography-2012. Vitebsk”. The exhibition featured over 50 art holograms from 14 countries of the world, including: Australia, Belarus, Great Britain, Israel, Iran, Canada, Lithuania, Portugal, Russia, Romania, USA, Turkey, Ukraine, France.
Both analog and digital holograms were presented at the exhibition, which amazed all visitors, young and old. Among the digital holograms, there were several unique large-sized works with moving images. A spaceship, a jet fighter, cartoon characters, a sea shark that opens its mouth when visitors approach, and other digital holograms left no one indifferent.
JSC “Light Magic” pays special attention to the creation of holographic copies of Orthodox shrines. At the exhibition “Holography-2012. Vitebsk”, more than ten such holograms were presented, which showed Orthodox icons and crucifixes: the cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk, Our Lady of Korsun, Sergius of Radonezh, St. Kharlampy, the Cathedral of Christ the Savior and others. A unique project for the JSC “Light Magic” employees was the shooting of a life-size holographic copy of the cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk. There are only a few copies of this hologram; one of them was presented to Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow during his visit to Belarus, the second was presented to Metropolitan Filaret, the third was placed in one of the Minsk churches, and the fourth can be seen by visitors to the exhibition in Vitebsk. The Magic of Light also creates conceptual art holograms: such works as Egg on Nails, Typewriter, Spoons and a number of others are very popular.
At the exhibition in Vitebsk, for the first time, the fruits of cooperation between the JSC "Light Magic and the Vitebsk Regional Museum of Local Lore were presented: art holograms taken from the museum’s exhibits were exhibited next to these exhibits so that the original could be compared with its holographic copy. Among other things, a hologram of a pectoral bone cross was presented, which dates from the 15th — early 16th century. XVI centuries. Exhibition “Holography-2012. Vitebsk” was a continuation of the 1st World Exhibition of Artistic Holograms “Holography-2011”, which was held with great success in Minsk in October-December 2011, gathering a record number of visitors — more than 100 thousand people.
Both at the exhibition in Minsk and at the exhibition in Vitebsk, a significant number of exhibits (more than thirty) were created in our country, by Belarusian scientists and production workers, which undoubtedly raises the prestige of Belarus as a country where scientific research is actively carried out in the most advanced and promising areas of modern science, where innovative technologies are applied and high products technology is developing.
The initiator of the exhibition and the chairman of its organizing committee is Leonid Tanin — a prominent Belarusian scientist, founder of art and protective holography in Belarus, academician of the International Engineering Academy, chairman of the board of directors of JSC “HOLOGRAPHY INDUSTRY” , chairman of the scientific council of JSC “Light Magic”.
We wanted to create a bright, unforgettable, informative event in Vitebsk that will be remembered for a long time by both schoolchildren and students, as well as adult visitors. Specially trained guides and educational posters introduced visitors to the history of holography and various technologies for recording art and security holograms, as well as the basics of the practical application of holography in various fields of production, medicine, museums, art, advertising. Visiting the exhibition, in terms of the degree of saturation with practical information, was close to an introductory course in the field of holography — an advanced technology of the future. This exhibition had a high scientific, educational and cultural potential, demonstrated the high achievements of Belarus in the field of nanotechnology, laser physics and holography, showed examples of practical and innovative applications of science, and undoubtedly became a significant event in the life of Vitebsk and the Vitebsk region.