Sydney, Australia – This week Royal Philips, (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHIA), the global leader in lighting, underlined its leadership in lighting technology at Vivid Sydney 2014 and highlights various innovations that are at the forefront of a new digital age for lighting.
Philips is a major sponsor of The Future of Lighting Summit, organised by the creative lighting network illumni, it takes part in Vivid Ideas and is a collaborative partner with selected Vivid Sydney 2014 light artists, working with them to bring art to life with light.
“We are proud to once more be involved with the Vivid Sydney festival, a truly spectacular celebration of innovation and creative ideas in lighting,” said Rob Fletcher, General Manager of Philips Lighting Australia and New Zealand. “Through connected LED lighting we can change dramatically the way people experience and interact with light at home, at work and in their cities. We foresee a near future where lighting innovations connect seamlessly with smart controls, networks, devices and apps to positively benefit and improve lives.”
A highlight of Vivid Sydney 2014 is the spectacular display of light art installations, a number of which incorporate Philips Dynalite lighting controls solutions. Philips is proud to collaborate with these artists, turning their ideas into stunning light art installations and displays. The light art installations powered by Philips this year are: Light Splash, Cloudscene, Circus of Lights and Aurora Australis.
“This is the first year for our team of PTW Architects and SJB Architects to participate in Vivid Sydney. The entire experience has been fantastic with every step of our journey, we were able to bring our ideas to realisation,” said Mona Chao, team lead at PTW Architects. “Along the way, I learned so much from the Philips Dynalite team about the endless possibilities how we can control and play with light creatively. And I am pleased Vivid provides the general public with an opportunity to experience these possibilities through our ambient Cloudscene and interactive Light Splash installations.”
Philips’ Singapore-based Director of Business Development OLED for Asia Pacific Mr. Mun Fai Kuan will speak at Future Shock, a Vivid Ideas event, where he will discuss ‘What’s next for the future of lighting?’ In his presentation at the Future of Lighting Summit, Kuan Mun Fai will share with the audience how OLEDs or Organic LEDs open up a whole new world of opportunities for working with light. He will address how with OLED designers can think differently and use their creative freedom to transform the way lighting concepts are being designed, delivered and experienced.
About Kuan Mun Fai
Director of Business Development OLED Asia Pacific Region, Philips Lumiblade
Kuan Mun Fai started his career in Philips Lighting as Lighting Application support building Lighting Application Centers in the Asia Pacific Region. He has extensive experience in Architectural Lighting, Fiber Optics, as well as one of the early pioneers in driving adoption of LED in general lighting applications. |
Based out of Singapore, Kuan’s focus now involves the next revolution in lighting technologies – Organic LED or OLEDs in short, where he actively enables lighting partners to switch to green and sustainable lighting solutions in the professional lighting segments.
About Future Shock at Vivid Sydney 2014
01 JUNE, 3:30 - 5:00 PM
Vivid Ideas Exchange, Museum of Contemporary Art
| Future Shock is a Vivid Ideas event that brings together leaders, entrepreneurs and thinkers to speak about workplace culture, skills development, communicating with audiences, new materials and manufacturing processes, to give our audience a broad overview of major trends they should be aware of, as they impact on the future of the creative and business economy. |
About Future of Light Summit at Vivid Sydney 2014
02 JUNE, 8:00 AM
The Westin, Martin Place
| The Future of Light Summit is a Vivid ideas event that brings together an eclectic mix of speakers including futurists, statisticians, business big wigs, artists and lighting heavyweights to discuss lighting and its role in the future of design, health, sustainability, art, and science. |
Vivid Sydney 2014 Light Installations, supported by Philips
(Images used with permission from artist and Destination NSW)
Light Splash
Milos Carkic / Fernando Polo Valarezo / Angus A. M. Stevens / Mona Chao
When was the last time you got to ‘splash’ around, without being told off for having muddy feet or making a mess? Light Splash is about fun and discovery, about rekindling the child within, allowing yourself to abandon all notions of structure, responsibility and rigidity and take a moment to ‘play’. |
The installation explores the concept of ‘fun functionality’ as you skip around a series of pads, triggering wonderful light sequences as you go. This piece examines the place of fun in design of the built environment, its importance to our wellbeing and ultimately its effect on our outlook and the kinds of choices we make.
The installation is composed of 40 light pads made of plastic polymer sheets, that contain LED lighting. Each pad is connected to a central control box, which is responsible for the programming of various lighting sequences. Each pad also contains a pressure sensor; when you walk on this sensor, it lights up the pad and triggers a responsive program in the central control box, which then produces the different lighting sequences.
The collective responsible for Light Splash is a group of young architects currently working at Peddle Thorp & Walker, and SJB Architects.
Cloudscene
Mona Chao / Milos Stefan Carkic / Fernando Polo Valarezo / Angus A. M. Stevens
Cloudscene is about a bottle, or rather the journey of a bottle that starts as a daily necessity and ends in a bin. When we are not actively recycling, we discard and forget these bottles, allowing them to accumulate in landfill. Cloudscene questions the cyclical use and dismissal of the ordinary plastic bottle. |
The installation consists of 3,000 suspended PET bottles, with LED lighting placed between them, creating an effect of diffused light and transparency. This effect conjures up the physical shape and characteristics of a cloud. The bottles, that once were used to transport water, become the tangible and collective expression of water in a different physical state – a cloud sitting silently amongst the heritage fabric of the city.
By day Cloudscene is an ambient sculpture, capturing light patterns and wind movement through a narrow channel. At night, the sculpture is animated by light scenes creating movement and pattern along the laneway.
This collective comprises a group of former and current young architects working at Peddle Thorp & Walker, one of the oldest architectural practices in Sydney. Notable PTW projects have included the Water Cube at the Beijing Olympics and the new extension to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
Circus of Lights
Griffen Lim / Maggie McFadyen
As mesmerising as it’s kooky, there’s a magical essence to the art of plate-spinning where everyday objects whirl atop poles through the skill of a performer. Part circus act and part refined craft of manipulation, it possesses a charm of its own.
Circus of Light is a collection of suspended plate forms that glow from within, inviting you to engage with the installation. Whirling forms and changing colour transform the site into a dynamic space that draws you closer. |
The spun-aluminium forms conceal an LED light source that creates a continuous glow. The ‘plate’ appears to spin to 360 degrees and tilt up to 90 degrees; the installation continuously changes depending on your viewing perspective. Additional ‘plate’ forms populate the space, creating a dense field of play. These plate forms are lightweight, allowing them to respond to weather conditions, moving and swaying in the breeze.
The surrounding architecture becomes an illuminated backdrop, throwing the installation into sharp relief and becoming part of the artwork. The experience is supplemented by the audio overlay of a circus soundscape.
Griffen Lim and Maggie McFadyen are both senior designers at futurespace, an Australian design studio. They collaborate on various projects and recently won the annual Corporate Culture Design Journey competition and were selected to exhibit at 2013 Sculpture by the Sea, Bondi. While their expertise lies in interior design, they always strive to explore new creative realms.
Aurora Australis
Beam Collective: Bettina Easton / Grace Tham /Colin Shum / Jonas Olander / Robert Easton
As naturally occurring, mesmerising light spectacles, aurorae have awed people for centuries. These beautiful phenomena are created by a collision of energised particles blown by solar winds, converging to ignite the sky in a symphony of colour and light.
Our very own aurora – the Aurora Australis – graces the Antarctic skies in winter. Vivid Sydney invites you to experience this ethereal dance of light right here in Sydney Harbour through Aurora Australis. |
Aurora Australis harnesses the changing winds to create an ethereal kaleidoscope of light against the night sky. Motion sensors determine the movement of Vivid Sydney crowds, which influences the progression of lights projected onto fabric sails suspended from above. Vertical light beams allow you to play with the intensity of the Aurora storm – if you ‘break’ the beam, a sequence of new, dynamic light patterns and effects explode into space.
Much like its natural counterpart, Aurora Australis is a joyous celebration of light and as part of Vivid Sydney brings the historic Rocks to life through a layering of ambience, colour and movement.