Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Italian light artist Emilio Ferro transformed Paris’ historic Chapelle Expiatoire into a glowing, breathing monument with Threshold, a site-specific installation unveiled during Nuit Blanche on June 6, 2026. Commissioned by the City of Paris and produced by Studio Artera, the work sent a single beam of white light through the chapel in sync with the opening and closing of its doors, creating the illusion that the two-century-old building itself was breathing. More than 1,000 visitors experienced the installation over the course of the five-hour event.
Completed in 1826, the Chapelle Expiatoire marks the site where King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were first buried following the French Revolution before their remains were transferred to the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Because the chapel rarely opens after dark, Nuit Blanche offered Ferro a rare opportunity to create a work that responded directly to its architecture and history.
At the center of Threshold stands a minimalist metal structure that projects a concentrated beam of white light along the chapel’s nave, aligning precisely with its oculus and emphasizing the building’s central axis. As staff opened the chapel’s doors, the beam extended into the surrounding garden. When the doors closed, the light withdrew and appeared to dissolve back into the stone interior, giving the impression that the architecture itself was inhaling and exhaling.
Sound was equally important to the experience. Ferro composed an original score using recordings of magnetic field frequencies captured inside the chapel, transforming otherwise inaudible signals into an ambient soundtrack that filled the space. Visitors also became part of the work, as their movement and proximity subtly altered the atmosphere throughout the evening, ensuring that no two experiences were exactly alike.
Threshold continues Ferro’s ongoing exploration of light as a material capable of revealing the hidden character of historic spaces. Previous installations at the Pyramids of Giza, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Switzerland’s St. Niklaus Chapel similarly combined light and sound to uncover new ways of experiencing familiar architecture. Rather than simply illuminating these landmarks, Ferro invites viewers to reconsider the stories they already contain.
To keep up to date with the light artist’s work, you can follow Emilio Ferro on Instagram.
Light artist Emilio Ferro’s Threshold transformed Paris’ Chapelle Expiatoire with a beam of light that expanded and contracted as the chapel’s doors opened and closed.
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Created for Nuit Blanche 2026, the site-specific installation paired synchronized light with an original soundscape composed from magnetic field recordings captured inside the chapel.
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. Photo: Roberto Conte.
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Threshold continues Ferro’s exploration of light as an architectural material.
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. Photo: Roberto Conte.
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
Earlier installations at the Pyramids of Giza, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Switzerland’s St. Niklaus Chapel similarly used light and sound to reveal new dimensions of historic spaces.
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. Photo: Roberto Conte)
Threshold by Emilio Ferro. Site-specific light and sound installation commissioned by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2026, presented at the Chapelle Expiatoire, Paris. Project direction: Studio Artera. (Photo: Roberto Conte)
