Black has created a spinning sculpture of light and metal, one that remains in constant motion. The Nebula Hive uses the lights on the ends of its mechanical arms to fluidly shift between states of being. Seen in a flash frame, it resembles a string of pearls; but it is always moving, now coming together to form a more coherent ball of light, and then shifting into what looks like a DNA spiral that then reverses upon itself.

The Nebula Hive is one meter high and three-fourths of a meter across. The Light-emitting diodes are encased in acrylic spheres, and mounted on nickel-plated brass armatures.

I don’t know how much flexibility the Nebula Hive has built into it; whether it has more than one speed, or indeed more configurations than I saw. But the constant movement makes it a different sight every time you look at it. I would say that although it seems more artwork than illumination source, it could possibly be a wonderful addition to any space.

Working with Black’s company INK, the MB&F M.A.D Gallery is making a limited series of these creations available. A total of 18 Nebula Hive light sculptures can be had, at either the main gallery in Geneva or at MB&F’s other M.A.D Gallery in Dubai. As the Nebula Hive spins, its descendants will thus be apreading across the world – little miniature universes of their own.