Note of intent

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Ultraviolet rays, which are responsible for the development of life, are also responsible for a range of health problems. At a time when the number of skin cancers is on the rise, it is vital to make the general public aware of the presence of UV rays.
 

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Éveil aux ultraviolets is a collection of indicator-installations aimed at the general public. As part of a care approach, they are designed to be experienced in a sensitive way by making UV perceptible. These playful pieces change under the influence of the UV rays they are exposed to, in order to draw attention to and bear witness to the variations in intensity.

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How can the transformation of matter poetically translate the variations of ultraviolet radiation and make it perceptible?

This porous design approach draws on methodologies and vocabularies of form from the fields of textiles, art, science, robotics and computational design.

While Children of the Moon uses a dosimeter to measure the UV level of a space, these installations reveal the variations in ultraviolet radiation through their gradual transformation. The aim is to give us a sense of a change in the environment; to awaken our sensitivity to ultraviolet radiation.

In a slow, poetic way, the changes in the material question and challenge us. These installations highlight the exchanges between the microscopic and the macroscopic. They reveal the beauty of the organic landscapes that make up the skin, and the way in which ultraviolet light brings them to life. They are at once surprising, strange and beautiful. Their transformations are playful, impressive and sometimes quite amusing.

So that this awakening is educational and not guilt-inducing, this approach is optimistic and encouraging. That's why the transformations are reversible, unlike the effects of UV rays on the skin.

 

This collection consists of a narrative weave that represents a section of skin that changes colour, followed by a set of beacons to follow or flee according to their colour, and finally a giant melanocyte that mimics living behaviour and whose extremities move according to UV levels. These indicators-installations represent ultraviolet radiation through colourimetric and/or kinetic changes.

 

This project was supported by the Chaire Eco-design et Création DECATHLON / École des Arts Décoratifs.

Also supported by the Banque des Territoires Groupe Caisse des Dépôts