Coral Luminance
From Plastic Waste to A glowing reef
Coral Luminance is an outdoor light installation created for Amsterdam Light Festival Edition 14, co-developed with sustainable 3D-printing studio vanPlestik. The work features twelve sculptural coral forms, 3D-printed from recycled plastic packaging from coffee shops and crowned with delicate optical-fiber polyps.
The installation invites audiences to reflect on coral bleaching, ocean fragility, and the possibility of regeneration through collective action.
By Day
The sculptures read as tactile, almost fossil-like artifacts. The 3D-printed forms retain subtle ridges and imperfections, echoing coral skeletons shaped by time and tides. Optical fibers extend from each sculpture like living polyps, blurring the line between synthetic material and natural growth.
At Night
Coral Luminance comes alive. Energy-efficient LEDs embedded within each form emit a gentle, rhythmic glow inspired by marine bioluminescence and reef ecosystems. The light choreography shifts slowly across the installation, creating a sense of collective breathing, a visual metaphor for interconnected marine life. The hue slowly fades toward pale white, a visual reference to coral bleaching and the loss of vitality beneath the ocean's surface.
Set along the canals of Amsterdam, the glowing corals act as quiet sentinels, reminding viewers of reefs under threat and the urgency of ocean stewardship.
