Towards the light

A creative touch is added to the bright city lights of Milan with designers using LEDs to engage notions of time, memory and modernity.

The annual Milan LED Light Festival, which is on display until 10 January 2011, includes some 600 000 LED lights in over 60 exhibition displays.

Karim Rashid’s "Dnarim" installation is reminiscent of DNA with a spiral of light suspended above the pavement while the colours move almost invisibly across the spectrum, from pinks and reds to blues and purples.

Italian designer Fabio Novembre’s "Ieri, Oggi, Domani" or "Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" installation uses LEDs to create forms that represent clothes hanging on a washing line and illuminating the street.

Aurum by Italian architect Matteo Thun uses countless oversized golden and fir orbs that hang above the street. This ecologically lightweight installation is meant to draw on childhood memories of the holiday season while also remarking on how our perceptions can change over the years.