LESS – Flint Collective

This site-specific installation, installed at Manhattan’s Pier 17 as part of the NEW INC Demo Day Festival in June 2023, was created by Flint Collective founder Leela Shanker and designed to illustrate the idea of less:

Less building, more reconstructing; Less virgin material, more remediated waste; Less mining and processing, more harvesting and cultivating. — Leela Shanker

The sculpture is created using mycomaterial of various fungal species, a construction option with a lighter footprint than the traditional aluminum. Everything else composing this sculpture is recycled or reused, including the LEDs and DMX controllers provided by Nanometer.

The sculpture is a demonstration of how different building materials, in this case the mycomaterial, can capture and reflect light effectively while also having a gentler environmental impact. Instead of generating light, LESS offers up the option of reflecting light by designing with luminescence in mind. It invites viewers to contemplate construction alternatives for a greener future, and see that brightness and illumination can in fact be achieved without a high rate of energy consumption.