Haberdashery Studio

Radiance

Radiance by Haberdashery Studio investigates our emotional responses to the colours of sunset, from pure joy at the vast, mysterious beauty of our nearest star to reflections on the fleeting nature of existence.

Throughout history, artists have used light and darkness to symbolise emotional states. With the Radiance installation, Haberdashery Studio continues this tradition by investigating the colours of sunset and the feelings that they inspire in us all. “While a sunrise can represent a new life or hope, a sunset often represents the ephemerality of existence,” the studio says. “The fragility of a perfect sunset, often visible for mere minutes, has tangible parallels with our own lives.”

The installation consists of three glass sculptures designed to re-create the hues of light that fill the sky when the sun begins to dip below the horizon. Each sculpture is made of six dual-layered glass planes that rise above and around a “solar” light source. Spotlights pass additional light through the glass layers, causing concentric arcs of colour and reflection to spill across each surface of the gallery. “Each sculpture shows a range of colour that is recognisable and yet unique,” say Haberdashery, “a fleeting moment frozen in raw colour.”

Haberdashery say they want to instigate a very personal emotional response in each viewer, drawing on their own connections with sunsets, often from childhood. Visitors can bathe in the light, lying down next to the sculptures to let the colours wash over their bodies. Or they can simply stand and admire the sunset, reflecting on how the vast and often unimaginable processes at work within our nearest star stir a sense of joy and wonder in us all.

Credits:

Design team: Haberdashery Studio