"Circumpolar Lantern" consists of a three-layered construction with nested 3D Voronoi bodies, each layer featuring subtly different form variations. At the center of the sculpture, a light bulb hangs on a steel cable, which can rotate freely, thereby projecting dynamic shadows onto the surroundings. The work explores the relationship between material presence and immaterial light projections. The black powder coating of the stainless steel creates a strong contrast between the physical structure and the dynamic light patterns it generates, emphasizing the interplay between solid geometry and ephemeral illumination. Developed for Bildmuseet Umeå, the installation uses the gallery architecture as a surface for the moving shadows cast by the rotating bulb and the Voronoi layers.
Research:
Three 3D Voronoi meshes were generated from different point sets so that the layers nest without touching. The central bulb hangs on a cable and can rotate; the Voronoi cells cast moving shadows that combine across layers. The research covered the choice of Voronoi sites (density, distribution) for each layer, mesh generation and cleanup, and the structural design for suspending the layers and the bulb in the gallery.
Photography: Studio Thilo Frank
https://www.thilofrank.net/circumpolar-lantern
