The Grey Twilight
by Léa Silvestrucciwebsite - instagram
Human activity and the pollution it creates make our earth grow warmer, our seas grow rougher and our air and skies grow denser with particles and clouds. In turn, the amount of light that reaches the earth’s surface is reduced. This phenomenon, today only slight, is called global dimming.
Fast-forwarding to an imagined 2070, Léa used speculative design to sketch objects that would become integral to our homes, if we were to live in a new reality determined by a drasticlack of sunlight. Exacerbating global dimming allowed Léa to enter a new reality in which sunlight is not taken for granted. The tragedy lies in the fact that we might get to a time when these measures become necessary.
Fast-forwarding to an imagined 2070, Léa used speculative design to sketch objects that would become integral to our homes, if we were to live in a new reality determined by a drasticlack of sunlight. Exacerbating global dimming allowed Léa to enter a new reality in which sunlight is not taken for granted. The tragedy lies in the fact that we might get to a time when these measures become necessary.
Creative Proposition: The Grey Twilight
Four conceptsSpeculative objects / Digital drawings
The outcome of the Grey Twilight is a series of 4 concepts/objects. These objects, from 2070, explore how personal and intimate spaces within the home may have had to be adapted due to an increase in global dimming. They are observations, artefacts, from 2070 and are presented as such with only a short description accompanying each concept.
The way the concepts are shown has been chosen to play with the idea of truth and how scientific facts are usually just accepted as being truthful. The aim is to present these concepts as factual – similar to potential blueprints – to establish them as real. Ultimately, this is to make people think and question how things are now, and how they might end up in that state in 50 years.
The first concept is a schedule. It is based on best practices to regulate circadian cycles. It is not prescriptive but rather a guideline that people are invited to follow and adapt to their own needs, such as when sleep should happen. This schedule is what links and dictates the use of the other objects/concepts.
The second presents where objects should be placed for optimal usage. Blue light becomes a centrepiece for any room, while circadian clocks should be in the periphery of a room.
The third concept shows how bright light and blue light should be integrated in a room. Bright light is primordial to our lives; it helps create and regulate our circadian cycles. It can also help us orientate ourselves in time. When not used as a simple light, bright light reproduces natural phenomena such as sunsets and sunrises, creating temporal markers for the brain. The ceiling is turned into a representation of what the outside sky and light would be like if it weren’t for the constant outside greyness. If needed, a blue light device can be added to the ceiling to boost vitamin D production and create warmth.
The fourth concept is a small medical device. It produces vitamin D and melatonin medicine at set times during the day, as indicated on the schedule. The device is roughly made of three parts: a round body, a small projector on top, and a small drawer-like component for distributing medicine. The projector shows on the wall a clock-like 24 hour visualisation that moves to show when the next treatment will need to be taken. Vitamin D and melatonin are presented to people as thin squares that should be placed under the tongue to dissolve. This allows for optimal absorption of the prescribed dosage.
The way the concepts are shown has been chosen to play with the idea of truth and how scientific facts are usually just accepted as being truthful. The aim is to present these concepts as factual – similar to potential blueprints – to establish them as real. Ultimately, this is to make people think and question how things are now, and how they might end up in that state in 50 years.
The first concept is a schedule. It is based on best practices to regulate circadian cycles. It is not prescriptive but rather a guideline that people are invited to follow and adapt to their own needs, such as when sleep should happen. This schedule is what links and dictates the use of the other objects/concepts.
The second presents where objects should be placed for optimal usage. Blue light becomes a centrepiece for any room, while circadian clocks should be in the periphery of a room.
The third concept shows how bright light and blue light should be integrated in a room. Bright light is primordial to our lives; it helps create and regulate our circadian cycles. It can also help us orientate ourselves in time. When not used as a simple light, bright light reproduces natural phenomena such as sunsets and sunrises, creating temporal markers for the brain. The ceiling is turned into a representation of what the outside sky and light would be like if it weren’t for the constant outside greyness. If needed, a blue light device can be added to the ceiling to boost vitamin D production and create warmth.
The fourth concept is a small medical device. It produces vitamin D and melatonin medicine at set times during the day, as indicated on the schedule. The device is roughly made of three parts: a round body, a small projector on top, and a small drawer-like component for distributing medicine. The projector shows on the wall a clock-like 24 hour visualisation that moves to show when the next treatment will need to be taken. Vitamin D and melatonin are presented to people as thin squares that should be placed under the tongue to dissolve. This allows for optimal absorption of the prescribed dosage.
