The Diet of Light Throughout lockdown, Dr. Shelley James has been spreading the word about the importance of healthy light. Here, she tells us all about the Luna project, the Age of Light Innovations Group, and her goals for a better lit future.
D
r. Shelley James is on a mission to bring healthy lighting to the masses.
Founder of the Age of Light Innovations, the
self-proclaimed “lumenologist” has been making waves in the lighting industry and beyond,
working to educate the wider public on the power of light and the lasting impact that it can have on
both mental and physical wellbeing.
With a well-travelled upbringing that has seen her move from Jamaica to Kent, Nigeria, South Carolina, Paris and back to the UK, James has
experienced a diverse array of cultures, and attitudes towards light and
colour. “I’ve been all over the world growing up. That led to a fascination in the way that changes in climate shape culture and colour,” she said. This fascination firstly led to her studying textiles in Paris, before
entering the world of corporate branding, “working with clients to help them to bring together different types of visual, textual clues to create the experience of an organisation”.
A traumatic head injury meant that James had to learn first-hand about light and vision as she had to retrain her own central nervous system.
From here, she moved on to working in printmaking at the University of Bristol, integrating prints into glass to create illusions of space and
depth; before eventually undertaking a PhD at the Royal College of Art on Perception, which led to working with glass that changes colour in different lights.
It is here that James’ interest in artificial light began to grow, as she
sought to use more light in her own work and as such undertook a City
and Guilds qualification in electrical installation, after which she began to work with artists, designing lighting to complement their work.
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