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Light, with its inimitable potential, transcends mere illumination—it shapes perceptions, redefines spaces and reframes reality. Reflecting this transformative power, American artist James Turrell once remarked, "Light is not so much something that reveals, as it is itself the revelation." This profound insight evidently serves as the foundation for Light in Motion, the inaugural exhibition presented by Acrylicize at the London Design Festival this year. Running from September 13 - 22, 2024, at The Art House, in East London's Shoreditch Design Triangle of which STIR is a media partner, the exhibition presented by the multidisciplinary art and design studio based in London and New York celebrates the fluid interplay of light and form and explores its dynamic relationship with movement, space and time.
Curated by designer and engineer Sean Malikides and producer Jessie Temple, Light in Motion features the works of 12 artists, designers, creative technologists and engineers, each pushing the boundaries of their craft. Light takes on a sculptural form in this exhibition of durational light-based work at the London Design Festival 2024, undulating across walls, freezing moments in time and redefining spaces. "The works unfold, change and evolve over time, inviting viewers to experience light as a force that shapes the environment, as well as their own presence within it - rather than something we simply see. This physical movement of light challenges the audience to engage not only visually, but spatially and temporally," Malikides and Temple tell STIR.
According to the curators, the showcased works at the design festival focus on the quality of light and explore the different ways in which it can be moved and perceived. Comparing the diverseness of experimentation by the different participating creatives, Malikides and Temple relay, "each practitioner has approached light and motion from a unique perspective and with a different relationship to time. Yet there is a sense of continuity between the works."
Star Holden's work Anemoi “evokes the storms of Jupiter, and we see tumultuous currents swirl in torrents of shifting light. In contrast, Sophie Mei Birkin portrays a river held in a moment of time, while speaking to the afterlife of materials and their transformation. […] Duncan Carter uses caustics to control and refract light through lenses to create drawings of light and shadow. Relative Distance uses light to infer movement and show the passing of time in a durational work that mirrors the lunar cycle in real time," they explain.
STIR charts some of the key exhibits from the Light in Motion showcase at LDF 2024, finding how the pieces explore the relationship between light and form.
10,000 Tiny Suns by Duncan Carter
The futuristic installation from UK-based designer Duncan Carter's Generative Optics series, 10,000 Tiny Suns pushes the frontiers of light as both a medium and a subject. The design presents a complex assembly of compound lenses intertwined with a fibrous framework, carefully guiding and controlling the trajectory of light. Utilising advanced 3D-printed lenses, caustics and optimisation algorithms, Carter crafts custom geometries to manipulate light into a pointillist composition.
Cosmobloom by Heyl & Van Dam
The interactive kinetic sculpture mirrors the rhythmic cycle of a flower, transitioning between states of being closed, secure to open and vulnerable while reflecting light and colour in a fluid motion. Conceived by local artist duo Parker Heyl and Mac Van Dam, whose expertise straddles art, engineering and robotics, the sculpture creates a presence beyond its physical form at the design event. It fills the space with continuous movement through its mirror-polished stainless steel petals and intricate mechanical linkages.
Phase by Relative Distance
Phases of the moon are displayed in real-time in this debut work from London-based design studio Relative Distance. Phase is a long-form timepiece revealing details of the moon's surface through carefully balanced light and glass, encased in a metal frame. With custom optics and advanced fading technology, the exhibit mimics natural moonlight, creating an immersive experience that enhances the visitor’s perception of time and scale at the design exhibition.
Biomatter Submersion by Sophie Mei Birkin
An evocative series of illuminated biomatter membranes that delve into material transformation and interaction reflects local artist Sophie Mei Birkin's characteristic exploration of how materials evoke psychophysical responses. Drawing inspiration from environments where organic matter intersects with water—such as rivers, skylights, water tanks and bus stop shelters—this installation features foraged biomatter suspended in bio-resin, frozen in time. The aluminium lightboxes highlight the life cycle of materials and their integration into larger bodies of water.
Falling Light by Will Laslett
Inspired by the interaction of sunlight falling and cutting through a tree foliage, Falling Light by London-based multidisciplinary artist Will Laslett simulates the variegated patterns created by leaves. A moving light source interacts with a structured grid of aluminium louvres, producing a nuanced, two-dimensional projection that reflects the natural beauty of this phenomenon. Laslett's installation combines elements of both natural and artificial worlds, presenting a refined representation of a complex, three-dimensional system in a sleek, two-dimensional format.
Other highlights from the Light in Motion exhibition include Kai Lab's CMYK Searchspace, a colour synthesiser resembling a vintage radio; an inventive kinetic sculpture of light and colour titled Light Cycles by Maria Vera; Planitesimal by Star Holden, witnessing the movement of light and shadow across an asteroid; and Sea of Segments by Will Muir Llia showcasing water cascading across seven-segment displays.
When asked about the show's strength, Malikides and Temple answer, "We made a conscious decision to move away from screen-based works and work with practitioners creating physical, tangible objects. Building things that work in the physical, analogue domain with novel techniques triggers a deeper response in the viewer who knows they are looking at something which they don't normally see."
In its 22nd edition, the London Design Festival—including its 11 design districts, partners and the design fair Material Matters—stirs the city with a dynamic programme of installations, exhibitions, workshops, talks and more. Follow STIR at London Design Festival 2024, as we continue to bring the best of the festival's offerings as media partners along with our own initiatives across the city, including our partners Shoreditch Design Triangle, Mayfair, the Global Design Forum, and more across Brompton, Battersea, Chelsea, Dalston to Stokey and Bankside.
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