Artist and designer Bastien Carré first began experimenting with lighting and its effects on emotion while a design student in Paris. From there he spent some time as a furniture designer, before becoming inspired by the emerging creative potential of LED technology in 2007. From that point on. he put his scientific mind and artistic heart to work, developing a technique which would allow him to use the fine wires that supply the electricity to his LEDs as the nearly invisible supporting matrix for them as well.

In Carré’s work the true weight and volume of his sculptures emerges upon illumination, when the often less then 2 mm LEDs join forces to create sometimes abstract, sometimes botanical, sometimes avian or insect inspired sculptures.

Six years on, Carré continues to develop his art form – sculpting each wire structure by hand before soldering on an often endless array of LEDs.

His unique designs are produced in limited editions of no more than eight, ensuring a continuous evolution of design forms over time.

To describe his new art form, Carré coined the term lumigraphie, a combination of the terms ‘lumière’ (light) and ‘graphe’ (graph) – a term the art/design world and his contemporaries, also working in points of light, have embraced.

In 2012, upon spying Carré’s work, famed lighting designer Ingo Maurer declared, “In Bastien Carré’s work his poetic tenderness and technical skill impress me. I know that he still has a lot of experience ahead of him but I am convinced that one day he will play in the Super League.” A bold statement with which I think we all can agree.

Be sure to watch the short movie just above for an intimate look at Carré’s magical works of art.

Photos and video courtesy of Bastien Carré.