If you happen to be visiting the Netherlands sometime this year, you’re likely to encounter a number of van Gogh-related festivities commemorating the 125th anniversary of the artist’s death. In January, the Het Noordbrabants Museum, located in the artist’s homeland region of Brabant, hosted an exhibition of works inspired by the famous painter. Among the more arresting exhibits was Studio Drift’s Flylight, a site-specific light installation that interacts directly with its surroundings.

Consisting of delicate glass tubes that light up at random, in response to external stimuli – say, the movement of a museum-goer – the light mimics the behaviour of a flock of birds in flight. This natural phenomenon was translated into specially developed software that controls the motion of the lights, resulting in a mesmerising display that isn’t pre-programmed. In the same month, multi-brand luxury furnishing emporium Macsk held its official launch in Singapore. What stole the show wasn’t the store’s impressive interior architecture or the furniture, but a Lasvit blown-glass chandelier, the Alice, that appeared to shimmy in tune to a classical music soundtrack.

Kinetic light fixtures such as the Flylight and Alice are part of a growing trend. What started out as site-specific installations in designer hotels, concert arenas and exhibition spaces has filtered into the domestic environment as technology (LEDs, motors, circuit boards) improved and became more accessible to homeowners. Homeowners, too, discovered the pleasures of an emotional, sometimes surreal experience of living in spaces animated by sculptural lights. Here are some of the most atmospheric lights – some kinetic, others static (but no less imaginative) – that will bring a magical touch to any home.

---

Nemo

 

Uma
Giancarlo Tintori’s Uma light for Nemo challenges conventional notions of a chandelier, with an inner steel structure supporting an elaborate assembly of transparent methacrylate (a type of plastic) tubes. When lit, Uma transforms into a futuristic sculptural object, reminiscent of a spaceship in flight. The effect is nothing short of spectacular.

---

Flos

 

Wall Rupture
Humans, by nature, are curious beings. Our inquisitiveness is so strong that we may even ignore obvious signs of danger in pursuit of knowledge. This instinctive behaviour inspired designer Thierry Dreyfus to conceive the ingenious Wall Rupture for Flos - a crack in the wall with golden inner surface lit by warm white LEDs (resembling a wall fissure).

---

 

Barovier & Toso

Spinn Chandelier
Like some of the other examples showcased here, Barovier & Toso’s aptly-named Spinn Chandelier gives a new twist to an old classic. Mouth-blown Murano glass elements are arranged in a spiral and lit by halogen bulbs to form a graceful helical pattern. Two versions are available, one in clear crystal and the other in a gold variant.

---

Baccarat Marie

 

Coquine Baccarat’s
Marie Coquine is a whimsical take on the traditional chandelier. Created by wunderkind designer Philippe Starck, the fixture comprises a 12-light Baccarat Zénith chandelier and an umbrella, which has an ivory-coloured canopy that softens the cast light and a decorative chestnut wood handle to complete the illusion. Imaginative yet functional, Marie Coquine comes in a limited edition of 120 pieces.

---

Ingo Maurer

 

LED Wallpaper
Traditional wallpaper receives a shot in the arm – or in this case, a jolt of electricity – in Ingo Maurer’s LED Wallpaper, conceived in conjunction with Architects Paper. Made from a large electronic circuit board printed on paper, it’s available in 60cm panels, with each panel housing 840 LEDs. You can choose the design it illuminates using a small control that allows you to manage the colours and brightness levels.

---

Lasvit

 

Alice
For the Alice chandelier, 29-year-old designer Petra Krausová was inspired both in part by the tale of Alice in Wonderland as well as the fragility of blown glass, to which she drew parallels with the ethereality of flowers. Alice therefore takes on a vaguely floral silhouette, with glass ‘petals’ that ‘open’ and ‘close’ in tune to the tempo of a chosen soundtrack. This motion is powered by 19 engines and 12 circuits. Illumination comes courtesy of 28 static LEDs. At 2.4m across and 1,300 kg in weight, Alice is a guaranteed conversation piece.

---

 

Ingo Maurer

 

Flying Flames
For a theatrical effect that will have your guests talking about the setup for months to come, Ingo Maurer’s Flying Flames is hard to beat. Like a high-tech version of the airborne candles in the Harry Potter series, Flying Flames juxtaposes LED circuit boards (the ‘candles’) and downlights in a flexible chandelier system. A canopy board and magnets allows you to customise the number and arrangement of the two elements as you please, while the length of the fine wires can be adjusted to create a rhythmic display.

---

Visionnaire

 

Gourmand
There is no doubt that La Conca’s Gourmand floor lamp for Visionnaire will command a presence in any room, so unique is its design: the gold printed leather lampshade with baroque detailing contrasts with the gold-finish scales that clad the lamp’s metal base, creating an artisanal look.

---