Kinetic Lights

Shylights: Beautiful Unfolding Kinetic Lights That Bloom like Flowers Several types of flowers are known to open and close for reasons of defense or energy conservation. This evolutionary mechanism, called nyctinasty, inspired Studio DRIFT to design the Shylight, a kinetic light fixture that opens dramatically during a 30 foot (9 meter) fall. The motion mimics the same action of a blooming flower or the billowing of a parachute. A collection of Shylights were just permanently installed at Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and you can see them in action on Colossal.   Ceramic Tile Illusion Painted on a Boring Electrical Box in Lisbon Illustrator and street artist Diogo Machado (aka Add Fuel) transformed this plain looking electrical box on the streets of Lisbon into a surprising illusion by making it look like a cracked exterior is revealing a blue tile interior. The piece is an extension of Fuel's ongoing Street Ceramic work, where modern interpretations of tile patterns are installed onto building facades.   Fine art photography gallery PurePhoto and Farmer's Daughter Hotel owner Ellen Picataggio—an avid art collector—recently collaborated on a custom photography installation by conceptual artist Matthew Carden. LA's best kept secret, this charming 60-room boutique hotel in Hollywood boasts world-class comfort food, a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere, and best of all an art gallery spanning the property featuring work by local artists. Carden painstakingly creates exotic worlds of miniature figures that live amongst food-based landscapes. The photographs line Farmer's Daughter's hallways, and are also included in Picataggio's art box project, which features over 40 local artists; one per room. Carden's full body of work can be seen on PurePhoto, which represents over 300 additional photographers. PurePhoto's clients include top interior designers and collectors, and the gallery specializes in printing large-scale works and custom installations. The PurePhoto collection offers open and limited edition photographs, which range from $200 - $15,000.   Glassy Pools of Used Motor Oil Reflect the Architectural Splendor of a Swiss Church Created by Swiss artist Romain Crelier, La Mise en Abîme (an idiom that communicates the same thing as "a curveball," but means, roughly, "to have put into an abyss") was a visually arresting artwork installed on the floor of the Bellelay Abbey in Switzerland back in 2013. The piece is comprised of two shallow pools of used motor oil that function as mirrors, reflecting the architectural details of the surrounding interior.   The 'Analog Memory Desk' Has a Built-in Scrolling Paper Surface for Recording 1,100 Yards of Sketches and Ideas Driven by an obsession of how people record and recall memories, MCAD student Kirsten Camara designed the Analog Memory Desk, what could be the ultimate sketching surface. The desk has a built-in mechanism for scrolling 1,100 yards of butcher paper on rolls embedded in its legs, a sort of tablecloth of memory that records months or even years of random ideas, doodles, and coffee rings. The desk isn't available for purchase, instead Camara released detailed blueprints through a Creative Commons license so you can build your own.   An Aerial Tour of 'Hang Son Soong,' the Largest Cave on Earth In this new 6-minute film, cave, adventure, and travel photographer Ryan Deboodt takes us on a breathtaking aerial tour of the world's largest cave, Hang Son Doong, located in central Vietnam. Deboodt brought a drone and an array of cameras to help capture the cave system, the largest chamber of which is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long, 200 meters (660 ft) high and 150 meters (490 ft) wide. Despite its enormity, the cave was only discovered in 1991 by a local man, and it wasn't even studied by scientists until about five years ago.   Hand-Painted Ceramic Bowls Filled with Detailed Hippos, Foxes and Deer These animal-filled porcelain bowls were meticulously crafted by hand and designed by Hella Jongerius for a commission by Nymphenburg, a Bavarian porcelain manufacture since the mid-18th century. The series was produced as a celebration of the animal collection found in their archives, and incorporates 3D creatures within the simple glazed bowls.   An Ornate Truck Spot-Welded from Thousands of Reflective Steel Disks by Valay Shende Transit is a 2010 sculpture by Mumbai-based artist Valay Shende depicting a life-size work truck that carries figures of 22 people. Created over a period of 18 months, the piece was constructed from thousands of reflective stainless steel disks that have been individually spot welded together. Shende conceived of Transit as commentary on a dramatic rash of farmer sucides in India over the last decade. The truck's rearview mirrors display video footage of roadways in London, Mumbai and Dubai, as if the vehicle is moving from the perspective of the driver's seat but in reality it remains stationary.   New in the Colossal Shop: Soap Leaves Only nature could form soaps this beautiful. Soap resin—mixed according to a secret Thai formula—is hand poured over a lattice-like frame of real manga tree leaves to form individual soaps. Each set of 20 honey-scented Soap Leaves come in an acetate box suitable for gift giving in Ivory, Green, or Pin Oak Green. Each leaf is good for one or two washings. Now available in the Colossal Shop.