One of the most rewarding aspects of tech-watching, more than keeping an eye out for the genuinely innovative breakthroughs hidden among the umpty-thrumpty gadget updates, is trend-spotting. To be among the first to notice a new thread weaving its way through the fabric of society is a thrilling, and occasionally horrifying, privilege; all the more so when that thread permeates developing and developed cultures to the benefit (or sometimes detriment) of all. With the appearance of Alexander Lervik's Lumière au Chocolate, a light at the bleeding edge of chocolate and LED crossover technology, we're ready to call it: edible lighting is a thing. No no, bear with me…
Clearly, it would be ludicrous to draw such a conclusion from a single edible light fitting, but remember, this is by no means the first such breakthrough. It was only in December we came across BITE ME. Rarely, if ever, have agar, vegetable glycerin, purified water and food coloring been combined to such delicious effect, and certainly never so illuminatingly. And now we have the Lumière au Chocolate: a chocolate lamp shade, which melts over the course of a quarter of an hour due to the heat given off from the LED it encloses, revealing steadily more light. The melted chocolate gathers in a tray so that you can eat it when it cools.
There. That's two edible lights. And everybody knows two instances are than ample to identif a trend. That's a mathematical fact.
What's that you say? Neither example is yet to make it to market thereby calling into question a proven demand for single-use edible lighting peripherals? Shhhhhhhhh. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh. A minor detail. It's still incredibly early days in the burgeoning field of illumi-foods, and though, perhaps, neither of these products will be the one to go global, with the army of scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs now pouring their genius into similar products (I imagine), it is surely only a matter of time.
(Obligatory serious bit: Lumière au Chocolate was revealed on February 4 at Stockholm's Galleri Kleerup Jacobs as part of the Lervik 100 range which, judging by Lervik's body of work, sits at the intersection of art and design.)
Source: Alexander Lervik, via Inhabitat
