Acropora
Installation Design
Art Direction
Concept
A lighting installation design proposal for a cathedral space in collaboration with Åben
This work embodies the context of its habitat, while being empowered by new technology and methodologies for making. The cathedral is a space full of history, nostalgia and safety. The architecture is grand and enveloping, sturdy and heavy. This installation creates a light, abstract and dreamlike presence as a counter measure. It seeks to evoke a sense of belonging, but to also lifts you out of this world and into the sky.
A Digital Ecology
My work revolves around the integration of nature into emerging technologies. I focus on shedding light on how far humanity has moved from nature, and proposing solutions to how we might breach this divide, by understanding the patterns and behaviours of the natural world and using parametric modelling to empower it.
For this piece, I’m looking to the formation of coral and reef structures. Due to rising sea temperatures as a result of climate change, these ecosystems are bleaching and dying out, and ultimately di- minishing the biodiversity of our oceans. The installation will be a testiment to this ecology, to remind us to design with care.
Inspiration
Textile Experiments - Kvadrat
The line work of the installation will be informed by the textures of the Acropora coral species primarily. Through 3D scanning and texture mapping, we can get a three dimensional understanding of how these are structured, and by iterating and sketching in 3D, the agency of the drawing hand will fully come to its right. Prototyping in virtual reality will allow for less material spent in the design pro- cess, and facilitate a more sculptural approach to form.
Pendant Design
The Acropora coral species has an organic line structure, which we’ll be exploring using various semi translucent materials from Kvadrat Textiles. Kvadrat works with mono-material textile fibers for interiors in a way that allows very sculptural form, and the materials supply a lot of surface tension, which we’ll be needing in order to suspend these surfaces from our brass hardware, and create a very airy and light volume.
We can understand the cast of shadows from one panel to the next by adding a natural light source and experimenting with directions. The natural light flooding through the windows has to be account- ed for when designing for the internal light source of the installation itself. Experimenting with levels of translucency will be important in the further stages of the work.
The Acropora constallation will be comprised of 10 panels with each their light source enclosed. The panels are made to symbolise the iterative levels and forms of the reef, almost as a cascading waterwall. The wir- ing will run within the brass piping and into an internal scaffold. The fixings will also include distanced elements to hold each panel.
