rising slowly by simon heijdens

In response to our world of dwindling greenery and densely-packed metropolises, Dutch visual artist Simon Heijdens turns technology to aesthetic ends, creating subtle ornamental works existing and evolving in response to their natural surroundings. Simon studied experimental film and product and media design at the Design Academy Eindhoven in The Netherlands and now works from his studio in London. Rising Slowly is a chandelier that he designed for the Austrian company Swarovski.

Rising slowly is no ordinary chandelier although it is built up like a traditional chandelier – a structure of threaded crystals that gets its character by subtly dangling crystals. Though the thread used here is of a smart material that slightly contracts when activated. Wind gusts are measured outside and translated to the chandelier inside. Each thread is separately reactive to the sensor, and together they make a subtle ripple travel through its crystals with a varying direction and intensity depending on the character of the windgust. So the chandelier makes an exact copy of the wind that passes outside, moving sometimes subtle, sometimes intense, sometimes not at all. An object with a character that is defined by its locations, changing along throughout the day and year and restoring the natural time line of an artificial space. It becomes a living object, one that is constantly changing. You can visit Simon’s website to find more information and to see all of his work.

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