The growth curve in lighting for A & D has taken a decidedly upward turn in recent years. One only need take a quick gander at such 3rings favorites as Winter, Haworth’s Lim Series task lights, and Fabian’s Riccio for a quick schooling in this segment’s progress in (respectively) sustainable/re-purposed materials, ergonomics, and energy-saving design. But nothing that has come before can quite prepare you for Jake Dyson’s Motorlight Series of wall-mounted and floor lamps.

Motorlight Wall. Designed by Jake Dyson of Jake Dyson Studio.

Not to take anything away from the aforementioned gems, but Motorlight is one of those products that re-defines the parameters of use, deeding, in this case, a new found facility for making light do all sorts or wonderful, automatized gymnastics. Dyson describes the product as “the world’s first variable angle uplight, enabling both designers and consumers to vary light angles to suit different environments and needs–-from ambient lighting to spot lighting.” The highly portable lightpieces (the floor model has a 23 cm diameter cone and weighs a scant 3 kg) are mini-miracles of mechanical ingenuity, encapsulating in their handsome high-grade polycarbonate shell a motor with a brain. And quite a brain at that: Motorlight Wall houses a cam wheel and mechanized shutter that enables automatic projections of variably-sized beams (a range of 10 to 120 degrees) on a 45 second cycle.

And the range of possible effects is further multiplied via the fully programmable remote control, allowing not only alterations in the projected beam, but also programmed modifications like dimming, pausing, and brightening. The upshot is a tantalizing new toy that duplicates the best effects of the best light shows one has ever seen (my personal referent being a Peter Gabriel concert circa 1993 in which the author of “So” came bathed in a beatific golden nimbus). Or, as Dyson puts it, “imagine a room that appears to breathe, or the effect of gentle waves, rolling across the wall when multiple lights work in synchronization.”

The remote control allows said synchronization of up to 30 lights, with varied degrees of brightness emanating from each, separately or together. Other perks? A base guide tube of aircraft grade aluminium, capsule reflector of pure clad aluminium for the purest and brightest light, 100 watt halogen bulb, and an appealing modern aesthetic with options in white gloss, black gloss, red glow, blue glow and clear glow. All told, Dyson’s Motorlight Wall lets you and your walls bask in your very own customizable beatific glow. Whether your tastes tend toward Mr. Gabriel, the more raucous tones of a Linkin Park, or something smooth and silky like vintage Al Green, Motorlight’s symphony in light hits all the right notes.