FRAGILE FUTURE

The Fragile Future series of light sculptures explores this relationship, evoking an imaginary possibility of how it could develop. Real dandelion heads are arranged within a phosphorescent bronze structure cloesly resembling a circuit board. Each individual dandelion seed is glued by hand onto tiny LED lights. Dandelion heads, colloquially referred to as ‘clocks’, recall memories of childhood ritual and the passing of time. In life, dandelions decompose when touched by a breeze or by a breath. In Fragile Future, the dandelions are transformed into something immortal. A peaceful presence resounds from the illuminated ‘clocks’, though at the same time light is being used to reflect something darker and more complicated. Preserving the life-form destorys the life force, preventing the seeds from spreading and renewal of life. Although the dandelions appear to float within the frame, in actuality they are contained. Underlying the gentle poetry of the work is an unsettling sense of our own, human, impermanence. The ‘Future Noir’ design conveys the trueth of sentience: to feel is also to die. Fragile Future has received much recent acclaim, winning the first ‘Artprize’ in 2006, and the International ‘Lights of the Future’ prize from the German Design Council in 2008. In 2010 Drift were awarded the Moet-Hennessy PAD London prize from their Fragile Future Concrete Chandelier.