From vision to completed form, Far Nebula is the work of Eric W Chang. An engineer and patent lawyer by training, one who aspired as a child to study insects, Eric was fascinated by the elegance that could be found in both mechanical objects and in the evolution of living things. As there are no telescopes capable of seeing distant worlds, he reached into his imagination to envision the illuminated forms he wanted to create. From initial conception, to drawing, mechanical design, fabrication, and final finishing and assembly, Eric taught himself to develop the processes necessary to bring the Light Forms to life. From his first simple light fixtures eight years ago to creating living mechanical art represents a long evolution of both the creations and his journey.

For over twenty years Eugene worked as a master shipfitter at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego, supervising crews as they prepared and put together steel and aluminum plates to be joined together into ships. Today his work with Far Nebula is on a very different scale, closer to tendons and eyes than propellers and helicopter landing decks. However, he brings the same dedication and expertise to fabricating the metal components that make up each Light Form.

Every step that goes into the Light Forms—design, engineering, manufacturing, finishing, assembly—is done in-house at our studio in the fine city of San Diego, California. But what we do isn't all held in one building. We feel that the environment itself is what animates our work. The ocean, desert, and mountains come together in this corner of our planet. They are the backdrop for both our photographs and our thinking of how environments, including those on planets not our own, shape natural forms.