Whilst at University, I worked with a London based artist called Moritz Waldemeyer as his electronics consultant. Moritz’s work spans art, product design, fashion and entertainment and is often a fusion with an electronic element.
The brief from him was simple – a multi-purpose lighting controller to use in a multitude of projects. Devices had previously been custom built for each project which slowed development and limited function. I designed a Teensy-based controller which reads bitmap files off a micro-SD card and replays them line-by-line to strings of connected LEDs.
This controller is being used in a large variety of projects from an animatronic dress that is currently touring with the Cirque du Soleil show Luzia to a headpiece commissioned by Jamiroquai for his Automaton album and tour. Working with Moritz also took me to Milan Design Week where we produced installations for Fontana Arte, Paul & Shark and Audi.
Many other installations all over the world include this controller.
Fred Temperton 