"Circumpolar Lantern" nests three 3D Voronoi structures, each layer with form variations. A central light bulb hangs on a rotating steel cable, projecting shadows through the nested layers onto surrounding walls. The Voronoi tessellation produces cellular patterns-each cell's boundaries determined by proximity to seed points in three-dimensional space. Three layers multiply shadow complexity: outer layer casts primary shadows, middle layer adds secondary patterns, inner layer produces tertiary effects. The rotating light source animates these static geometries, shadows shifting as the bulb swings. Black powder coating on stainless steel maximizes shadow contrast. Developed for Bildmuseet Umeaa, the installation uses gallery architecture as projection surface.
Research: 3D Voronoi tessellation generates cellular structures from seed point distributions. Each layer uses different seed configurations, producing form variations while maintaining nested relationships. The computational workflow: generate seed points ? calculate Voronoi cells ? extract cell boundaries ? scale for nesting. Three scales ensure proper nesting without collision. Cell size variations in each layer produce different shadow densities-larger cells in outer layer, finer cells in inner layers. The rotating light mechanism required minimal interference with the geometric structure.
Photography: Thilo Frank
thilofrank.net
