Meet the Light Artist: Auda Sakho

Meet Auda Sakho, London-based artist and founder of Redress Laboratory, specialising in regenerative textiles and socially engaged biodesign. Her work blends craft, ecology, and light to create installations and public programmes that celebrate biodiversity, cultural memory, and community. Using natural dyes, plant fibres, and projection, she turns everyday materials into poetic, immersive experiences. In our Meet the Light Artists series, we spoke with Auda to discover how her innovative practice will unfold in Kilburn Grange Park at Light Up Kilburn 2026.

How did you get started as a light artist?

My journey into light-based work began through textiles. I became fascinated by how cloth could hold memory, identity, and ecology and how light could reveal hidden layers within fibres, stitches, and natural dyes. Last year, I incorporated projection into a textile installation and realised light could act as a protective, expressive extension of the garment itself.

How does your work connect to the Light Up Kilburn 2026 themes of biodiversity and women’s safety?

Spectral Wardrobe draws directly from biological patterns plant cells, spirulina structures, leaf fibres to honour the park’s biodiversity. At the same time, the glowing projections act as symbolic beacons of safety for women and marginalised communities who often feel vulnerable in night-time spaces. The work uses the softness of textiles and the visibility of light to evoke care, protection, and belonging.

“Kilburn represents cultural richness, resilience, and everyday creativity. It’s a place shaped by migration, craft, and community energy themes at the heart of my practice.”

What can visitors expect from your piece at the festival?

Visitors will encounter an illuminated “wardrobe” of naturally dyed jackets /worn by women activated by two large-scale gobo projections. These light structures will transform the park into a poetic, dream-like landscape, blending colour, movement, and biological geometry. The atmosphere will feel intimate, protective, and deeply sensory.

What materials or techniques are you using, and why?

I’m using natural dyes, indigo, spirulina blue, botanical pigments and textiles combined with custom-designed gobo projections inspired by microscopy. These materials reflect both ecology and craft, grounding the installation in sustainability while emphasising the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world.

“The work uses the softness of textiles and the visibility of light to evoke care, protection, and belonging.”

What do you anticipate will be the biggest challenge of creating your work outdoors?

Outdoor projection requires careful testing for scale, brightness, weather conditions, and terrain. The biggest challenge is ensuring that the design maintains its clarity and emotional impact within the park’s natural environment but it’s also the most exciting part.

What impact do you hope your work will have on the community, and how can locals get involved?

I hope the work invites people to see the park differently as a shared space for safety, creativity, and ecological awareness. Locals can participate by joining the botanical dye workshop, contributing textures and colours that will directly inform the gobo designs. Their presence becomes part of the artwork.

“There’s something powerful about transforming darkness into a space of imagination and safety.”

What are you most looking forward to at Light Up Kilburn?

Seeing the community gather at night to experience the park in a new light literally.

One word to describe Light Up Kilburn?

Illuminating