With the rise of urbanization and societal growth, light pollution has increased dramatically. It is one of the fastest growing forms of pollution in the world, averaging about 2% a year globally.

I find myself spending longer hours in an artificial day than in natural sunlight, and especially in a technological culture that promotes nightlife, I struggle to break this habit. Terms like “night owl” are thrown around liberally and all-nighters are seen as markers of hard workers. On late night walks, the warm glow from apartment windows cast halos on the dark walls around them, which draws my attention and gives me a feeling of connection and wistful beauty. To me, light means “human.”

In its adverse effects, light pollution damages the health of humans and animals, hurts ecosystems, and disrupts astronomical research. Animals that rely on moonlight to migrate, hunt, or mate, experience devastating effects--fireflies, for example, have decreased their population by 90 percent. Plants often bloom too early, which affects the animals that depend on natural bloom cycles. The revolution of LED lights, which radiate greater lengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, adds to the problem.

Light pollution is one of the prominent visual markers of our separation from nature. Through this project, I wish to explore the cultural and socio technological link between urban light and the creation of human space.