EARTHQUAKE LAMP

In addition to its appearance as an aesthetic object, the '' earthquake lamp '' responds simultaneously to earthquakes occurring around the world, by producing light pulses and a robustious roar. The color-changing armature plays with the observer's behavior by creating a shift between anxiety and enchantment. The object also invites us to consider the reality and beauty of the fact that we live on a constantly moving planet.

By the time the French artist Fabien Bouchard lived in Tokyo, he was deeply affected by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake that occurred in Japan. Inspired by this tragic event, the lamp acts as a connection between the audience and our planet itself and symbolizes our instinctive fear of the power of nature.

The lamp records earthquakes around the world and notifies us instantly. Based on IRIS (combined research institutions for seismology) data, the earthquake lamp transmits earthquakes occurring worldwide to the audience with only a few minutes of delay. This work of art can be thought of as a flattened 'planisphere' that represents the axis of longitudes.

Light and sound alerts vary depending on the location and magnitude of the earthquake. Higher the magnitude of the earthquake, more impressive the sound of the alert.