Loom Light is an artwork by Titia Ex, commissoned by the municipality of Eindhoven. The work commemorates the Philips manager Jan Zwartendijk (1886 – 1976) who, during WWII aided the refuge of thousands of jewish people through the creation of false documentation, and in doing so saving their lives.

Interactive Matter was approached by the artist to create the lighting for this sculpture, in both hardware and behaviour. The assignment was to create a loom of light with natural, never repeating behaviour, that reflects the energy of the people around it.

To achieve this, over 20 thousand LEDs are placed on the artwork, which are individually controlled by networked microprocessors that are in turn connected to a central processing unit which generates the light behaviour.

The central software generates natural light behaviour through a physics model that makes bursts of energy spiral through the sculpture. The level of energy is based on the presence of people which is measured by several wireless sensors.