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Seeing stars is becoming an uncommon experience for most people. Cities contain so many lights that they turn the night sky into a void. This year, out of 48 cities in the US, Philadelphia ranked the worst in sleep quality amongst residents. Poor sleep is linked to health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and depression. Part of this problem is because of light pollution from sources such as street lights. BlackOut focuses on creating an interactive space that visualizes the changes that city lighting has on our night sky. The space features a projection of a generated night sky on the ceiling and a light fixture. Visitors interact with the light, resulting in the projection changing to show more or less stars. The objective of BlackOut is to instill importance on light pollution and demonstrate how changes to the way we light our cities affect us and our environment.

About the Artist

Andrew Chae is a designer from Los Angeles, California who focuses on product and interactive design, combining expression and creativity with his technical engineering background. He is passionate about long-term/large scale issues ongoing in the world such as climate change, pollution, and social inequality. His work centers on creating small-scale, user-centered designs with the use of technology and fabrication that aim to have an impact against major problems.