Barbro Scholz

Personal LightSpace
Mystery Ranch Artist

“One of the basic human requirements is the need to dwell, and one of the central human acts is the act of inhabiting, with a place on the planet which belongs to us, and to which we belong” — Charles Moore in ‘In Praise of Shadows’, 1977.

Creating a personal light space allows a non-physical space definition which is adaptable and changeable to required lighting situations. It is weightless, only the light source is a physical object. The use of light as a space-defining material is far more subtle than a physically closed space, it provides the opportunity to create a space of retreat by less ’loud’ means. A personal light space can create positive effects of light on the body by especially selected cold or warm light. In the pulsing society of today, a personal cocoon in our very mobile life is crucial in order to get some rest — a take-away privacy with an adaptable light source that is physically connected to the body and spatially related to the body. Wearable technology made of e-textiles, in other words soft technology, creates a new layer in the perception of technology; it becomes something that can be close to the body, of a well-known material that feels natural to wear and comfortable in any daily situation.

Barbro Sholz is an artist and textile designer from Hamburg, Germany. She has a background in industrial design and textile design with a focus on electronic textiles and interaction. Her interest is in the impact of designed objects on society, especially textiles as user interfaces for technical devices or as the device itself. She thinks the new possibilities in material choices and size for devices raise new questions to designers. She believes that the designer’s visionary role becomes even more important as well as the responsibility of designers to raise questions. From 2010 to 2012 she was involved in the Smart Textiles Design Lab at the Swedish School of Textiles, she is co-founder of the Stühmer|Scholz Design Office in Hamburg, Germany(2012). Since 2011 she is involved in the E-Textiles Summercamp and in the E-textiles Swatchbook Exchange. Since 2015 teaching university studients in the field of textile design and textile engineering. She showed her work in national and international contexts, among others Pailliards centre d’arts 2016, Smarttextilessalon2013 Ghent 2013, MAK Vienna 2013, WearIt Berlin 2015  Latest awards: Wearsustain 2nd call (2018)  and WORTH-project 2nd call (2019). More info at www.stuhmerscholz.de