The Blood Lamp
The following photograph is of the Blood Lamp, a provocative piece by Michael Thompson, which challenges our current relationship with energy. The vessel contains a chemical that produces a chemiluminescence when exposed to blood and can only be used once.
Obviously, in the context of its single use and requirement of a deposit of blood, the piece forces one to reevaluate the source and utility of the energy we consume.
What if power came at a cost to the individual?
The average American consumes 3383kwh of energy per year. That’s equivalent to leaving the light on in 4 rooms for a whole year. The simple flick of a switch allows us to power appliances and gadgets 24/7 without a thought to where it comes from and the cost to the environment.
For the lamp to work one breaks the top off, dissolves the tablet, and uses their own blood to power a simple light. By creating a lamp that can only be used once, the user must consider when light is needed the most, forcing them to rethink how wasteful they are with energy, and how precious it is.
Assuming that the chemiluminescence is generated through the use of luminol, one could active the lamp by adding hydrogen peroxide, copper, bleach, or other oxidizing agents, but that’s not the point.
