Ai-Chen Lin
Andrew Doro
Rory Nugent
Lumen
A bioluminescent deep sea creature captured and put on display.
http://www.sheepish.org/lumen/
Lumen
Igneolumens Aegobathysulcus
This creature, known commonly as lumen, normally lives in the depths of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean near the tropical island of Guam. The organism provides its own light through a process of bioluminescence whose purpose is not yet fully understood. Lumen feeds off of the decomposing carcasses of sea creatures which drift to the bottom as well as krill.
Lumen is believed to be related to the rhizostomae order of sea jellies, since species of this order have neither tentacles nor other structures at the bell's edges. This organism incorporates a plexus of autonomic nerves and exhibits a curious peristaltic reflex to haptic stimuli.
There have been reported sightings of lumen which have grown to be up to three yards in diameter.
This lumen is contained here in a specially manufactured pressurized barometric capsule to simulate the extreme conditions under which the lumen live, over 1,000 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.
This fine specimen was captured by Capt. Lysander Starr Jameson of the H.M.C.S. Yarmouth, who lead the submarine expedition to the depths of the Marianas Trench.
A Generous Bequest of Mme. Letitia Napier Rathmore
We are interested in the creating a mechanical object which imitate biological or organic forms. We are also inspired by medical museums and natural history museums.
Everyone.
The display is remniscent of a medical museum or sideshow oddity from the early 20th Century. Lumen is presented ostensibly as a bioluminescent sea creature from a deep sea abyss. The room is dark but Lumen emits a soft pink light. As the viewer approaches the lamp, Lumen detects their prescence and becomes excited, glowing more brightly and moving more quickly.
Lumen is constructed out of shape-memory-alloy wire cast into silicone, and suspended in a glass jar. The light is provided by a cold cathode tube. A microcontroller controls the shape-memory-alloy wire and cold cathode tube. A sensitive vibration sensor detects activity outside the glass jar.
The shape-memory-alloy wire contracts only about 2-5%. Therefore it is difficult to figure out a way for it to produce visible movement. We experimented with a wide variety of materials, including paper, fabrics, plastics, but found that casting the wire into silicone worked best. We originally intended on creating a biologically-inspired lamp, feeling that the movements could create interesting light patterns. We later changed direction and decided we liked a more surrealist approach of creating an artificial organism with a false history.
Igneolumens Aegobathysulcus
This creature, known commonly as lumen, normally lives in the depths of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean near the tropical island of Guam. The organism provides its own light through a process of bioluminescence whose purpose is not yet fully understood. Lumen feeds off of the decomposing carcasses of sea creatures which drift to the bottom as well as krill.
Lumen is believed to be related to the rhizostomae order of sea jellies, since species of this order have neither tentacles nor other structures at the bell's edges. This organism incorporates a plexus of autonomic nerves and exhibits a curious peristaltic reflex to haptic stimuli.
There have been reported sightings of lumen which have grown to be up to three yards in diameter.
This lumen is contained here in a specially manufactured pressurized barometric capsule to simulate the extreme conditions under which the lumen live, over 1,000 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level.
This fine specimen was captured by Capt. Lysander Starr Jameson of the H.M.C.S. Yarmouth, who lead the submarine expedition to the depths of the Marianas Trench.
A Generous Bequest of Mme. Letitia Napier Rathmore
We are interested in the creating a mechanical object which imitate biological or organic forms. We are also inspired by medical museums and natural history museums.
Everyone.
The display is remniscent of a medical museum or sideshow oddity from the early 20th Century. Lumen is presented ostensibly as a bioluminescent sea creature from a deep sea abyss. The room is dark but Lumen emits a soft pink light. As the viewer approaches the lamp, Lumen detects their prescence and becomes excited, glowing more brightly and moving more quickly.
Lumen is constructed out of shape-memory-alloy wire cast into silicone, and suspended in a glass jar. The light is provided by a cold cathode tube. A microcontroller controls the shape-memory-alloy wire and cold cathode tube. A sensitive vibration sensor detects activity outside the glass jar.
The shape-memory-alloy wire contracts only about 2-5%. Therefore it is difficult to figure out a way for it to produce visible movement. We experimented with a wide variety of materials, including paper, fabrics, plastics, but found that casting the wire into silicone worked best. We originally intended on creating a biologically-inspired lamp, feeling that the movements could create interesting light patterns. We later changed direction and decided we liked a more surrealist approach of creating an artificial organism with a false history.