Falling Light by Will Laslett at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Photo by Connie Wright.

Falling Light by Will Laslett at the ‘Light in Motion’ exhibition in London – Photo by Connie Wright.

Design. During London Design Festival 2024, multidisciplinary studio Acrylicize invited twelve visionary creatives to craft, engineer, and play with light as if it were a design material. Their design objects, durational artworks, and mesmerising installations shine at the must-visit Light in Motion exhibition [13-22 September 22 at The Art House in Shoreditch Design Triangle, 30-36 Pritchard’s Road, E2 9AP].

RELATED STORIES: Read more about the London Design Festival 2024 on Archipanic.

“We want to showcase some of the most innovative and imaginative work being developed by artists, designers, and engineers working in London today.” Says Sam Malikides, who co-curated Light in Motion with Jessie Temple. “Each work conveys ideas about light, space, movement, and time: kinetic artworks, durational pieces moving imperceptibly, and pieces that capture a moment.”

Light is thrown around the space, reflected or emitted, and used to clarify or distort. “The exhibition prompts us to question how we perceive and interpret the world around us, emphasising the dynamic interplay of light and motion.”

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Evocative natural elements contrast with technology. Software developer and hardware designer Will Muir Llia created a wall-mounted display that shows water cascading across seven segments. Footage of flowing streams, crashing seas, and glistening lakes wash over the screen. Rich tonal variation contrasts with the display’s harsh simplicity.

Sea of Segments by Will Muir Llia at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Sea of Segments by Will Muir Llia – Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Drawing from notions of emergent complexity in natural systems, multidisciplinary artist and designer Will Laslet has created a kinetic lightwork inspired by sunlight falling through tree foliage. A light source moves behind a gridded metal structure, combining natural inspiration with our artificial world.

Falling Light by Will Laslett at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Photo by Connie Wright.

Falling Light by Will Laslett – Photo by Connie Wright.

Heyl & Van Dam and Maria Vera created kinetic pieces interacting with visitors. Roboticist Parker Heyl and designer Mac Van Dam handcrafted a responsive sculpture that opens and closes in a harmonious perpetual motion. Its futuristic blooms reflect light and colour across the room.

Cosmobloom by Heyl & Van Dam at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Cosmobloom by Heyl & Van Dam – Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Artist and engineer Maria Vera created a constellation of kinetic sculptures of light and colour that use refraction to transcend the physical translucent materials at their core. As they move, light and shadow constantly evolve, dancing around one another, never repeating.

Light Cycles by Maria Vera at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Light Cycles by Maria Vera – Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Several works were inspired by the movement of light on celestial bodies. Phase by Roland Ellis and Dev Joshi of Relative Distance design studio is a lunar light and timepiece that synchronises with the moon’s waxing and waning in the night sky.

Phase by Relative Distance at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Phase by Relative Distance – Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Star Holden’s sculptural steel and plaster piece recalls light movements across an asteroid. Surface topography data gathered by instruments onboard NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft in 2012 is mechanically sculpted into a primitive surface. Hundreds of hidden lights orchestrate shadows, revealing eras of impact events.

Planetesimal by Star Holden -at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Planetesimal by Star Holden – Courtesy of Acrylicize.

KAI LAB design studio played with colour. Their CMYK Searchspace is a table lamp and hues synthesiser that looks like a vintage radio. By turning its dials, users can search through 16,000 possible hues to select the perfect illumination and nuances to suit their mood and environment.

CMYK Searchspace 2.0 by Kai Lab at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

CMYK Searchspace 2.0 by Kai Lab – Courtesy of Acrylicize.

Duncan Carter works at the intersection of algorithmic design and contemporary craft. For his 10,000 Tiny Suns, he used light as a medium to sketch a pointillist composition. Inspired by the possibilities enabled by 3D-printed lenses, he harnessed optimisation algorithms and custom tools to design lens geometries that form images.

10,000 Tin Suns by Duncan Carter at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Photo by Connie Wright.

10,000 Tin Suns by Duncan Carter – Photo by Connie Wright.

Time, light and nature blur in Sophie Mei Birkin‘ created a series of illuminated membranes of biomatter, fixed in bio-resin and held in time. The works explore material transformation and interaction and take inspiration from places where organic matter grows, passes through or settles in relation to water.

From left, works by Sophie Mei Birkin, Duncan Carter, Kai Lab at the Light in Motion exhibition in London - Courtesy of Acrylicize.

From left, works by Sophie Mei Birkin, Duncan Carter, Kai Lab – Courtesy of Acrylicize.