Luminous bowls: PERSPEX® in art
We are celebrating 90 years of PERSPEX®. Each month of the anniversary year, we are presenting an example of an application of this versatile material. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
British artist Liz West is known for her site-specific installations in which she explores the use of light and colour to blur the boundaries between sculpture, architecture, design and painting. For fashion label Nemozena, she transformed the courtyard of the Musée Nissim de Camondo into a sea of colour for Paris Fashion Week 2018. The installation of 169 PERSPEX® bowls is called Aglow.
And indeed, sunlight makes the bowls of different PERSPEX® Fluorescent colours, arranged in a hexagon, glow. Depending on the angle of light and perspective, the concave surfaces cast colourful shadows, creating ever-changing patterns. A further dimension is created when the bowls are filled with rain.
Transparent and colourful: the dome-shaped bowls made from PERSPEX® Fluorescent.
The PERSPEX® acrylic was first CNC cut into disks, and then dome-blowed to precision; this was a test for Abbey Distribution Limited to blow each dome to create identical dimensions. Getting the bowls in perfect alignment and spacing between them during installation was the biggest challenge; but this was simplified by using clear acrylic tubes to stabilise the bowls and ensure all remained perfectly placed.
The fascinating interplay of light and colour has been recreated in a new location for Dubai Design Week and Milan Design Week.
The attractive colour variants of PERSPEX® Fluorescent: Helios Yellow – a fresh sunny yellow | Lava Orange – a warm glowing orange | Neptune Blue – a deep vivid blue | Acid Green – a strong sharp greeen | Mars Red – a bright, intense red
Project: Aglow by Liz West
Client: Nemozena Fashion brand
Material: PERSPEX® Fluorescent, different colours
Year: 2018
Location: Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, France
© Design : Liz West | www.liz-west.com
© Fabrication: Abbey Distribution Limited | www.plastock.co.uk
© Photo Credit: Julien Philippy
