Live Edge Perspex (box)

At first glance it seems like this box composed of two types of acrylic – one pale pink, transparent and dull making up the sides and base of the box, and the other, bright pink and fluorescent, at the corners. However, on closer inspection, you can see that this is an interesting optical effect – look at the corners of the box from the inside and you can see the box is made from one material. This material is described as ‘live-edged’ because the edges of the material glow under ambient light as if it has its own internal light source. It is also known as a ‘light-gathering’ acrylic because of the mechanism by which the glowing edges are produced: imagine a sheet of this material - this sheet gathers light from its planar surfaces which is then refracted internally and emitted wherever that surface is interrupted – for example, at the edges, or wherever there is a scratch or etched mark. In this object, those glowing edges have been joined together, creating a very interesting and deceptive effect with the colour and fluorescence of the corners depending on the angle at which you view them.