Installation Blind Lucid Umbrella on the use of blue light
Artist Tony Tao Li creates Blind Lucid Umbrella (BLU), an art installation that explores the meanings of blue light using LED modules. The artwork was part of the exhibition ARRHYTHMIA at Centrum Berlin, which ran between June 27th and 29th, 2025. The theme was inspired by the concept of Rhythmanalysis by the philosopher Henri Lefebvre, which is about understanding life through patterns and rhythms. The group show featured visual art and experimental sound, and BLU fit by expressing the rhythm and tension brought about by the use of digital devices.
The installation Blind Lucid Umbrella (BLU) uses 1-unit and 2-unit LED modules wired in parallel, metal framing, socket cables, and inlet switches to realize the artwork and lighting. It also comes with 189 laser-cut and bent metal components, over 7,300 cm² of sandblasted glass, and more than 1,000 screws, hexagon nuts, flat washers, and nickel-plated spacers. The artist designed the art piece to be modular, allowing for alternate arrangements of its glowing elements so that the installation can be changed and transported for and into different, future exhibitions.
all images courtesy of Tony Tao Li
‘BLU’ captures this shift in the color’s meaning
The installation Blind Lucid Umbrella was conceived as a vertical composition, but artist Tony Tao Li says that the system allows for more linear, curved, stacked, or deconstructed configurations, requiring only minor adjustments to the supporting wall components and cabling. From an artistic lens, BLU is an installation that uses the color blue to reflect on how technology, emotion, and culture are connected, and how even something as simple as a color can carry deep and shifting meaning in our digital age.
The work draws from the turn-of-the-century fascination with glass, light, and the pervasive glow of blue, a hue that once symbolized innovation, trust, and a techno-utopian future. There was a period when blue became a dominant filter in visual culture: from the branding of Nokia, Sony, and Motorola, to the glass facades of skyscrapers to the sleek interfaces of early personal computers.
Tony Tao Li creates Blind Lucid Umbrella (BLU), an art installation that explores the meanings of blue light
Cool shade symbolizes constant digital exposure
‘Blue was synonymous with a frictionless, hyperconnected digital dawn,’ says the artist. ‘Yet over time, its identity shifted. What was once an emblem of progress and connectivity became entangled with corporate dominance and digital fatigue.’ These days, the color is related to big tech companies like Facebook, as well as the digital world through the use of blue light coming off of screens.
It now also symbolizes corporate power, overstimulation, and the negative effects of constant digital exposure. The installation BLU captures this shift in meaning by creating a glowing, immersive space that encourages visitors to think about how this color affects their emotions, memories, and experiences in the modern world.
detailed view of the sandblasted glass
there aremore than 1,000 screws, hexagon nuts, flat washers, and nickel-plated spacers used in the piece
detailed view from the side
the artwork is modular to allow for alternate arrangements