Coastline in Formation

A sculptural light installation reflecting on our changing relationship with the North Sea

Coastline in Formation is a collaboration by Underbug and Noord see Lights.

For years, the North Sea was a force to be respected: a source of food, trade and survival. Today, it is increasingly treated as territory to be claimed. We harvest its resources, pollute its waters and build infrastructure across them.The project invites visitors to reflect on this changing relationship. Rather than seeing the sea as a space to occupy, it asks us to look again at its beauty, complexity and resilience.

Inspired by the North Sea coastline, the installation translates biological and geological processes into a sculptural light object. Wind, water and sediment reshape the coast, creating landscapes layer after layer. Similarly, 3D printing constructs form through the accumulation of material.The installation brings together two distinct design practices: Underbug creates ceramic shelters for the underdogs of the insect world, while Noord see Lights explores co-design and biobased 3D-printed lighting elements that invites an alternative to mass production.
Together, the studios investigate how contemporary production techniques can complement and strengthen one another.