In November one of our associates, Graham Rollins, was fortunate enough to be selected by KKDC Lighting to participate in Light Asia 2019 in Shanghai. Graham was one of six international masters of light invited to participate. The event included lectures to a prestigious architectural practice and top Shanghainese university students. The importance of the lighting designer's role within a project team was emphasised and lighting education and skill-sharing were at the core of the cultural exchange which also included practical workshops to create temporary lighting installations within the university campus.

Graham teamed up with a talented group of students to produce an artistic response to the natural environment provided. In the final artwork, some fundamentals in colour contrast were explored, tricking the viewer's eye into seeing pink light when the light used is blue. The artwork was conceived as an abstract reflection of the site, where the vertical lines of warm white light represent the trees growing and the midnight blue hue and dappled cool white spotlighting represent blue sky at dusk and the onset of moonlight.

The final setting, when viewed from across the river, is one of awe and fantasy, and this feeling combined with split in lighting colour contrast inspired the students to title the work' ½ In Wonderland' 

Graham's comments on the event were; “I am very grateful for the opportunity to have participated in such a well organised and rewarding exchange. As a participant I have learnt so much from the other masters and my fantastically talented team of students. I hope that in turn the students have learnt from me and will continue to explore lighting in their future projects with new techniques and enthusiasm. I am still in shock that we were able to create such an impressive and thought-provoking piece of art in such a limited time. This would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the students and event organisers. Thank you to all that participated”.