The moon takes the sun,
Halo of light fills the sky,
For a brief moment.
Solaris (2023)
This lighting exhibition was created for the 2023 IESNYC Student Lighting Competition while considering the theme “Circle of Light.”
The prompt pertains to the exploration of cycles of life and the motif of circles through a lighting experience.
I knew from early on that I wanted to explore the idea of an eclipse- the result of the lunar cycle and the solar cycle aligning momentarily.
Design Prompt
With this content in mind, I started pulling from my memory different ideas of what the construction could look like. What I mostly knew is that I wanted to capture the feeling of fleeting alignment.
I conceptualized around two paths- one involving the piece moving while the other involved the viewer moving.
I gathered inspirations for medium from film projection to paper cutouts to wire gears to anaglyph. In the end, I was greatly inspired by a series of sculptures that “appeared” and “disappeared” based on the angle of the viewer.
Research and Exploration
When developing this form, I had two main ideas on how I could achieve the lighting effect with this piece.
In one form, a lightbulb sits at the center of the layered discs. In another form, an acrylic tube skewers the discs while carrying light inbetween them. This second form is what I used for my final, considering both issues of lighting and attachment.
Finding Form
After designing, I had to execute my vision. I think I spent about three days straight in the woodshop- individually cutting on the bandsaw, drilling with a drill press, and woodturning each disc on the lathe.
At the end of assembly, I was excited to finally incorporate movement.
