Dubai asked us for light that could survive its night: heat, dust, and a sky that never quite goes dark. Along a public walkway we set out a procession of wandering lamps — spheres of hand-woven aluminium wire, each holding one small glow at its centre.

Light that walks with you

The Wireform pieces were made for ground like this. Their weave is open enough to let light escape in every direction, firm enough to keep the form. Set on rough iron stems at uneven heights, they read from a distance as a slow line of lanterns; stand close and the wire throws a fine mesh of shadow over the paving, and the mesh moves when you move.

We kept the output low on purpose. Low light leaves the night air visible around each sphere, and lets the eye follow the route instead of the fixture. Aluminium takes salt, sand and sea wind without complaint. The glow sits just above the ground, where people look when they walk after dark.

An outdoor installation has one job: to make a path worth taking at night. For a season, this one did. Then the lamps wandered on.