Design Map · Eindhoven
Moth to the Neon Moon
Graduation project by Yihan Lu at Design Academy Eindhoven, 2026. Shown during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven on Design Map, location F5.
Moths have evolved to navigate by distant celestial light, but artificial lighting in urban areas has disrupted this intricate system, leaving them disoriented and exhausted. ‘Moth to the Neon Moon’ reconstructs this ecological trap through an installation of streetlights, laser projections, sound and stickers. Every few minutes, a synchronised sequence of light, movement and sound unfolds, translating the moths’ experience into a spatial encounter. The work is inspired by the pink glow of Eindhoven’s night sky. Initially perceived as a natural phenomenon, it was later revealed to be produced by the lighting system used to maintain the grass at PSV Stadium. Having grown up in Shanghai, where brightly lit nights felt normal, and later encountering darker nights in the Netherlands, Yihan Lu began to question whose experience defines what is considered normal. Using familiar urban infrastructure, the project makes the negative ecological consequences of centring human experience perceptible.