Dichroic film has captivated my attention ever since discovering it at the Fall 2018 ITP show. Below are two videos, one demonstrating the effects of a light source moving around a piece of clear acrylic with a dichroic film applied to it. The other is a project I am currently working on that demonstrates an artistic application of the film.

Dichroic filters selectively allow certain colors to pass through and reflect other colors. This effect is due to a phenomena called thin film interference; when light passes through a film, some waves are reflected by the film boundaries causing some wavelengths to be amplified and others to be cancelled out.

I have been working with dichroic for the past six months, creating spinning plates holding grids of perpendicular pieces of dichroic (initially inspired by the work of Chris Wood). The material speaks to me. It brings me a sense of calm, joy, and wonder; spurring my imagination and taking me out of the real world. The movement of color as the plates spin creates a hypnotizing effect preventing you from being able to focus on a single point. I can’t wait to explore the possibilities that this film holds, specifically the ability to encode information into it and selectively display the information.