Aure Sconce

Andrea and Robert White of Montreal’s Brave Design sought to create a simple wall sconce that would be interesting as an art object and functional as a lamp offering a variety of optical effects when switched on.

The user can mix lenses, reflectors and tinted acrylic sheets to obtain different effects. Illusions of depth and fractured patterns of light shift according to one’s viewing angle. The lighting is predominately diffuse with areas of sharper focus emanating from the lamp source, an energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb partially shielded by a tinted cover. The slots of the brushed-aluminum tube accept flat lenses and clear or diffuse, coloured acrylic sheets.

Kruse: It almost looks like a candle with a flame. Or a square painted on the drywall. It’s flexible. There are so many combinations of reflectors and coloured screens.

Chalmers: The shadow patterns give a three-dimensionality, as if the lamp were a laser hologram, not a photo.