Paula Arntzen

Imagine you are home without a television, without a tablet and even without a phone. How is your home entertaining you now?

The dominance of technological devices is making us less aware of the tangibility and tactility of our lives. This movement highlights the need to re-evaluate the way we think about our surroundings and the objects in it, as well as how we relate to both object and space.

Now imagine you are walking in an airport, shopping in a large shopping mall or just walking along the high street. How are these environments entertaining you?

My work examines the gap between public spaces and our family homes. The gap between the wealth of entertainment and life in the public environment to the often static environment of our homes. It explores what opportunities exist to create a more exciting and entertaining home environment by bringing life to otherwise dull or static objects. It combines performance, aesthetics and a fresh take on the special effect of animation. It is not just an object, nor a light fitting, rather it is the light itself that creates movement and life in the living room. Blue Hour will provoke your creative mind and brings back the wonder of observation. It will shatter the silence of your home with an exciting spectacle of colours and movement.

Inside a layered, mirroring space the special effects tell a story in a few seconds. It brings to life the normally unseen spectacle of blossoming through the use of optical illusion. Not only does it express the beauty of flowers, it also exemplifies the essential brilliance and vitality contained in every plant. The Blue Hour is inspired by the ‘Moonflower’ orchid that flowers only at night-time and lasts for only one night before withering. Blue Hour is the new language of a dynamic choreographed object that satisfies the requirements of future interiors in the near future will have.

Blue Hour refers to the period of twilight that occurs each evening when the sun is a significant distance below the horizon and the residual/indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue hue. The special effect of the light is a special moment that only lasts for 40 minutes and is linked to the inspiration of this project as the Moonflower also only reveals its beauty for a brief moment before it starts to wither just like the blue hour quickly fades.