Dandelion, Singapore
Dandelion is an immersive light installation that reimagines the delicate beauty of a single dandelion seed head at monumental scale. Created for the Singapore Night Festival 2025, with the support of National Arts Council Singapore (NAC), the installation was hosted at the Atrium of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), University of the Arts Singapore, before being exhibited at The Tanglin Club for its post-festival showcase. Blending intricate engineering with poetic symbolism, Dandelion invites visitors of all ages to “dare to dance like a dandelion in the wind”—a quote that anchors the installation’s narrative of resilience, hope, and creative ascent.
Constructed from 3000 individually illuminated fibre-optic strands, the sculpture responds organically to human presence through integrated proximity sensors. Its spherical geometry, precision-engineered with translucent acrylic stems radiating from a central core, was designed to emulate the ethereal weightlessness of real dandelion seeds ready to take flight. When visitors approach or move around the sculpture, the fibres shimmer, pulse, and ripple in changing colours—creating a living choreography of light that mirrors the soft motion of a dandelion dispersing in the wind.
The installation is intentionally interactive, though never touched: its invitation is sensory, emotional, and spatial. As shown in the photographs, children instinctively reach toward the light, adults slow down to absorb the shifting colours, and crowds orbit the sculpture as though participating in a shared ritual of quiet discovery. The glowing fibres seem to gather around each gesture, intensifying near the movement before dissolving outward in gradients of violet, aqua, rose, and white. Viewed from above, Dandelion becomes a luminous mandala—an energy field of light radiating in perfect radial symmetry.
Beneath its visual delicacy lies an extensive technical architecture. Each fibre-optic filament is manually arranged to achieve the lightness of natural seed filaments, yet durable enough for sustained public interaction. Custom control software synchronises sensor input with lighting behaviour, enabling responsive “breathing” patterns and colour transitions. The central sphere, inspired by natural phyllotaxis arrangements, houses the lighting engine and signal pathways, while a reflective base amplifies the illusion of floating, doubling the sculpture’s visual presence.
The dandelion metaphor holds special resonance for NAFA and the wider artistic community. Originating on the island of Singapore, NAFA students and alumni often “take flight” to creative fields around the world, carrying with them the seeds of their artistic identity. Dandelion becomes both tribute and beacon—an emblem of the many journeys that begin in this small, vibrant city.
As a light artwork, Dandelion stands at the intersection of sculpture, technology, and human experience. It is not merely seen; it is felt. Its ever-shifting illumination transforms viewers into participants whose presence shapes the artwork itself. In a fast-paced urban environment, Dandelion offers a moment of softness—a reminder that even in a technology-driven world, light can still behave like poetry.
Dandelion ultimately celebrates what makes us most human: our capacity to hope, to transform, and to take flight.