London-based designer Ed Swan creates ephemeral lighting effects that alter spatial perceptions. Inspired by an interest in camera obscuras, ancient image-making devices, Swan utilises these optical principals with an innovative use of materials to produce illusionary projections.

Swan’s new 1:10 and 1:8 pendant lights, which you can see in the Design Museum Atrium, require close inspection. The configuration of 8 or 10 lenses around one light source, a standard incandescent light bulb, projects images on the outer light shade, giving the work seemingly complex results. The multiple light bulb images are transmitted inversely onto the alluring black satin or opal white acrylic surface, blurring the distinction between interior and exterior.