WIRE BULB Series

Stainless steel / 925 silver / aluminium / multi-chip LEDs / custom electronics / 5VDC

65 x 65 x 140mm each

The WIRE BULB series uses the iconic light bulb form as a visual cage and emblematic vessel to contain motifs, relating to the symbolic essences of light. Each caged motif has been meticulously crafted by hand from sterling silver and stainless steel, punctuating their preciousness. The scale of these lamps mimics the exact dimensions of a standard incandescent globe, and like jewels they are designed to attract attention and inspire closer inquiry. Each lamp is fitted with custom built, pre-programmed electronics, which control the mutable LED light sources.

phototaxis

Designed as a pair, the PHOTOTAXIS wire bulbs trap the proverbial moth and flame and are fitted with pre-programmed LEDs that produce different light effects: the ‘moth’ lamp flickers on and off randomly to emulate the flutter of moths as they are attracted to artificial lights; the ‘flame’ lamp cycles gradually through a sequence from red to orange and blue, simulating the colours of a burning flame.

The term phototaxis refers to an organism’s automatic response to light. Moths are a classic example of positively phototactic organisms that apparently rely on moonlight for navigational purposes at night. Their confused and often lethal attraction to artificial light sources represents just one example of the ecological impact that our human preoccupation with sustaining light after dark is having. Humans are also intrinsically drawn to light, in particular fire light, as often this sign of light is a sign of life. However as the current ‘energy crisis’ reflects, the perpetuation of a 24-hour lifestyle, among other things, requiring non-stop illumination, may also propose dire consequences. An increasingly energy-hungry human existence is threatened by self-destruction as resources are rapidly exhausted. Like moths drawn to a flame perhaps we too are risking a confused sort of suicide.

thunderstruck

The THUNDERSTRUCK pair combines the emotions of a storm in the form a throbbing heart and a sparkling zap of electricity. These two motifs have become heavily loaded symbols representative of such divergent things as love, fear, honesty, courage, electricity, attraction, danger, intellect, wonder, nature and man. Ultimately the heart and the bolt of lightning symbolise two forms of life: a tangible organ or muscle, and an untouchable force or current. These definitions also conjure the history of scientific discoveries when the relationship between electricity and the body shared a fascinating relationship and were far less understood in the modern sense.

‘light’ bulbs

The LIGHT BULBS play on the etymology of the word ‘light’ and perceptions of what it can mean. The sun is king when considering both the biological and the symbolic significance of light and its importance to life as we know it. The Sun-light bulb is programmed to mimic a (somewhat accelerated) impression of the visible colours observed through a sunrise and sunset. The sequence only begins upon the touch switch being triggered. As well as signifying light in terms of physical weight, the feather is also symbolic of the sky, the place of light, of flight, and an enduring place of wonder. It is where the sun, moon and stars rise and fall, where clouds float, where rainbows appear and where lightning strikes. The feather therefore embodies the concept of the wish, or the freedom to dream, and the Feather-light lamp is progammed to take on a myriad of colours, whose intensity and hue can be chosen and adjusted at will.