Exhibition - Red Bull Illume 2011

Red Bull Illume 2011

Picture This! Illuminated eye candy for everyone

When art and photography collide, and the world's best sports photos are put under the spotlight, it can only mean one thing: Red Bull Illume, a global search for the best action and sports photographs, which attracted submissions from 4,773 photographers last year. The top 50 from almost 23,000 pictures have now arrived in Austria and will be illuminated at the Hangar-7 Outdoor Lounge every evening throughout the festival month of August.

The water relentlessly lashes their faces, their worn hands remind us of our own last, intense climbing tour and we feel their feeling of triumph rise within ourselves – the winning and finalist images of the "Red Bull Illume Picture Quest" will illuminate the evening sky, making these spectacular scenes and athletes look larger than life. Works of art that capture the moment, making the mood, the joy, the pain, the speed, and the athletic and physical effort tangible for everyone.

Out of the 22,764 pictures that were submitted by photographers from 112 countries, only the most exceptional 50 across ten different categories were awarded prizes in Dublin, Ireland, in August 2010. The pictures covered a diverse spectrum of disciplines, including BMX, surfing, skateboarding, B.A.S.E jumping, climbing, cliff diving, motor sports and winter sports. The winning photos have since been touring the world in 2.1 x 2.2 metre lightboxes, already wowing more than 100,000 visitors at six exhibitions in the US, Germany and Ireland. Salzburg is the tour's only stop in Austria. Red Bull Illume puts the spotlight on the people responsible for these incredible photos, paying tribute to the individuals behind the lens, who place themselves in the thick of the action to capture unique sporting achievements and ensure that the whole world finds out about them.

They hang from cliff faces and climb the most dangerous mountains. They keep themselves and their equipment above water for hours on end. And they risk their lives crouching among heavy traffic. All for that one moment, that one shot. Their finger is always on the shutter button when the athletes are in action, waiting for that perfect instance that will portray them in the best possible light. The fact that these photographers often have very heavy equipment on their backs – and face demands that go far beyond an eye for detail – goes largely unnoticed, and is something which the global exhibition series Red Bull Illume intends to make people aware of.

The regional contribution to this unique collection comes from German photographer Marcel Lämmerhirt, who lives in Austria. His picture of a cliff diver in Hamburg's Speicherstadt earned him first prize in the "Wings" category.

Throughout August, the top five pictures in each category will be illuminating the Salzburg sky, when the lights around the Hangar-7 Outdoor Lounge are switched on in the evening. All details about the exhibition in Austria can be found at www.redbull.at and www.hangar-7.com. More information about Red Bull Illume is available at www.redbullillume.com.