Design

Dandelight by Drift

Marcus Fairs

23 April 2007

Live from Milan: Dandelight by Lonneke Gordijn of Drift is a battery-powered LED light covered in dandelion seeds.

The design is a development of Gordijn’s Fragile Future project (shown below), which is a modular wall-mounted lighting system consisting of a network of seed-covered lights that react to movement.

Drift are showing at Zona Tortona in Milan.

Below is some text about Dandelight and Fragile Future:

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Fragile Future
2005, electronics, phosphorusbronze and seeds of dandelions.

‘Fragile future’ is about the amalgamation of nature and technology. In the distant future these two extremes have made a pact to be able to survive. Fragile Future combines electronic systems and dandelions in a lightsculpture that overgrows the wall. Electronics are driven by the natural survival instincts. The fragile installation protects itself by pretending to be out of order when someone comes too close. This is the same mechanism as a poppy that drops its petal when you pick it, or a ladybird that acts as dead in your hand.

Fragile Future II (above and below)
2007, electronics, phosphorusbronze and seeds of dandelions.
Fragile Future II is a modulair light system overgrowing the wall. One module is a visible circuit with little lights. This module is easy to attach to the next one (in seven different ways), while the switch-leg will continue. So it is possible to create a composition from just a few, up to 50 modules, according to the space and atmosphere. Fragile Future comes with two different types of light. One is an exclusive version and uses leds in real dandelion. The other is less fragile and shockproof. Fragile Future II is easy to install by yourself.