Running from 13 – 22 September 2024, Light in Motion is the inaugural London Design Festival exhibition for Acrylicize at The Art House, the newest addition to the Shoreditch Design Triangle
- Featuring the work of 12 independent designers, artists and engineers Light in Motion will showcase collectible design objects, durational artworks and mesmerising installations.
- Designers and artists showcased include previous members of some of the UK’s leading contemporary art and design studios
- Artists, designers and creative technologists harness contemporary materials and cutting edge technologies to convey ideas about light, space, time, movement and perception
- Designers and artists featured are; Duncan Carter, Kai Lab, Heyl & Van Dam, Maria Vera, Relative Distance, Sophie Mei Birkin, Star Holden, Will Laslett and Will Muir Llia
Relative Distance, Phase, a lunar light synchronised to the moon in real time. Phase is produced as an edition of 28 reflecting the number of days it takes for the moon to orbit the earth
Blurring the boundaries between art and design, Light in Motion brings together works by a group of innovative and imaginative artists, designers, creative technologists and engineers. Many designers featured include previous members of leading contemporary art and design studios working with technology. These include Conrad Shawcross, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Random International, DRIFT, Studio Swine, TROIKA and United Visual Artists.
Heyl Van Dam: Cosmobloom, mimicking the circadian rhythm of a flower, opening and closing each day
The exhibition running from 13 – 22 September 2024 is the first of its kind in the UK and is hosted by London-based multidisciplinary studio Acrylicize at The Art House, the newest addition to Shoreditch Design Triangle as part of London Design Festival 2024.
Having designed and installed projects exhibited in leading museums and galleries worldwide for over a decade, some studios have developed independent practices in parallel, for others Light in Motion is the first exhibition of their own work. Designers and artists featured are; Duncan Carter, Kai Lab, Heyl & Van Dam, Maria Vera, Relative Distance, Sophie Mei Birkin, Star Holden, Will Laslett and Will Muir Llia.
The group has emerged from an ongoing series of studio visits, artists workshops and creative conversations initiated by Kai Lab. Part of a community of designers and artists working with contemporary materials and cutting edge technologies, the exhibition represents a snapshot of one of London’s most vibrant and innovative art and design communities.
In the exhibition, light is both medium and subject. Light is thrown around the space, reflected or emitted, used to clarify or distort. Evocative natural elements are in contrast with the rational technological modes of display.
Works featured in the exhibition include;
Duncan Carter: 10,000 Tiny Suns is a one of a series of light sculptures from the project Generative Optics, which sees Carter push the capabilities of lenses, using a light as a medium to sketch a pointillist composition. Inspired by the possibilities enabled by 3D printed lenses, Carter uses optimization algorithms and custom tools to design lens geometries that form images.
KAI LAB: CMYK Searchspace is a colour synthesiser and contemporary light. By turning any combination of the four dials the user can search through a possible 16,000 colours to select the perfect illumination and hue to suit their mood and environment. Evoking design features of a vintage radio, CMYK Searchspace explores an evolving spectrum of colour and emits a flawlessly consistent light.
KAI LAB CMYK Searchspace, a colour synthesiser and contemporary light allowing users to search through possible 16,000 colours to select the perfect illumination and hue to suit their mood and environment
Heyl Van Dam: Cosmobloom is a handmade kinetic sculpture, which responds interactively to its audience. In harmonic motion it reflects light and colour while transitioning between states of closed and secure to open and vulnerable. A futuristic bloom, it moves reflections and light through the venue space in perpetual motion.
Maria Vera: Light Cycles is a constellation of kinetic sculptures of light and colour that use refraction to transcend the physical materials at its core. Each piece is a unique constellation of translucent materials and light that constantly evolves and moves as the light and shadows dance around one another, never repeating.
Relative Distance: Phase is a longform timepiece and lunar light which synchronises with the waxing and waning of the moon in the night sky in real time. Phase encapsulates the moon’s ethereal qualities in a thoughtfully detailed object. Every element is conceived in relation to the moon, from materials choices to behaviour. It is the first work from Relative Distance.
Sophie Mei Birkin: Biomatter Submersion is a series of illuminated membranes of biomatter. The works explore material transformation and interaction and take inspiration from places where organic matter grows, passes through or settles in relation to water. The suspended foraged biomatter is fixed in bio-resin, held in a moment of time, while speaking to the afterlife of materials and how matter flows into larger collective bodies of water.
Sophie Mei Birkin, Biomatter Submersion, a series of illuminated membranes of foraged biomatter
Star Holden: Planetesimal, is a sculptural piece in steel and plaster which imagines witnessing the movement of light and shadow across an asteroid. Surface topography data gathered by instruments onboard NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft in 2012 is mechanically sculpted into a primitive surface, while hundreds of individual lights hidden within the artwork orchestrate shadows revealing millions of years of impact events.
Will Laslett: Falling Light is a kinetic light work drawing from notions of emergent complexity in natural systems. Inspired by the behaviour of sunlight falling through the foliage of trees, the effect of sequential layers of foliage is to create a complexity in its dappled light far greater than a simple and crisp two dimensional shadow. In Falling Light a light source moves with a structure combining the natural inspiration and artificial world we inhabit.
Will Muir Llia: Sea of Segments is a wall mounted display showing water cascading across seven-segment displays. Footage of flowing streams, crashing seas and glistening lakes washes over the screen. Rich tonal variation contrasts with the harsh simplicity of the display. The complexity of nature is simply translated in its raw, unedited form.
Light in Motion co-curator Sean Malikides said:
“We want to showcase some of the most innovative and imaginative work being developed by artists, designers, and engineers working in London today. This is a group of creatives producing work to an exceptional standard, combining innovative design, craft techniques and modern science. They push the boundaries of art and design, creating stunning and ambitious works that are deeply original and thought-provoking.
Each of the works conveys ideas about light, space, movement, and time; kinetic artworks, durational pieces moving imperceptibly, pieces that capture a moment. The exhibition prompts us to question how we perceive and interpret the world around us, emphasising the dynamic interplay of light and motion.”
Light in Motion co-curator Jessie Temple added:
“Light in Motion showcases a new generation of thinkers and practitioners at the forefront of art, design, technology and engineering. With creative and inherently interdisciplinary practices, artists explore the possibilities and limits of materials and technologies in new applications testing new ideas through experimentation and play. We are delighted to collaborate with Acrylicize to realise this ambitious, creative exhibition.”
Connor Rankin, Head of Creative Programmes at Acrylicize said:
“Light in Motion is an incredible inaugural London Design Festival exhibition for Acrylicize to host at The Art House. As a multidisciplinary studio based in London and New York, comprised of artists, designers, creatives, and craftspeople we specialise in creating and curating bespoke artworks, installations, and schemes for global clients. Showcasing this exciting design talent at our East London home for the duration of London Design Festival is an opportunity to celebrate this creative community. We are delighted to celebrate creativity and innovation in art, design and technology and inspire visitors, partners and audiences.
Listings Details:
Light in Motion
13 – 22 September 2024
10am – 6pm (open 10am – 9pm Tuesday 17th)
Acrylicize at The Art House
30-36 Pritchard’s Rd, London E2 9AP
