A piece of the sky within your grasp

Completed between August and September 1969, in the aftermath of the Apollo 11 mission, each canvas that makes up celebrated American painter and sculptor Cy Twombly’s landmark Bolsena series comprises an explosive complexity. Hues of royal blue, scarlet red, ochre yellow, and gray against a parchment-white background, the abstract forms, scribbles, rectangles, ethereal numbers, and smudges loosely cluster and create a rhythmic vitality–one that conveys Twombly’s rhapsody of reactions to the moment when humankind took its first steps upon the moon. His entrancement is palpable as he tries to make sense of it.

Founded by renowned designers Roland Ellis and Dev Joshi in 2020, contemporary design studio Relative Distance’s artwork entitled Phase is a timepiece whose waxing and waning is in complete unison with the moon and illuminates according to the moon’s progress in real-time. The captivating object allows us to feel all the emotions–just like Twombly–as we materially, aesthetically, and optically connect with the moon.

“I remember having a conversation with an uncle of mine. I was a kid and just sitting in the garden looking up at the sky. There was this moment of understanding that the moon is not small, it’s far away. It was my first inkling that there’s stuff that’s further away than the top of the sky. It felt bonkers back then,” says Dev as the liveliness in his voice is instantaneously detected. Decades later, together with Roland, they have indeed closed the distance between us and Earth’s most constant companion by transforming a piece of the sky into a domestically-sized object. A showcase of the moon’s surface’s intricate detailing, Phase allows us to deeply gaze into and interact with all those craters and all those cracks–all those layers of mystery and romance the moon masterfully encapsulates.  

Letting their innate inquisitiveness guide them, conceptually, Roland and Dev were driven by a desire to create a minimal yet multifaceted and multifunctional piece. Their somewhat ever-expanding, imagination-fueled mood board was grounded by a profound focus on the material formula. Phase combines innovative lighting and diffusion technology with cutting-edge manufacturing processes. Meticulously configured, custom electronics and bespoke software and optics have been employed, so that Phase sits flush against any wall. The case back, available in darker Ilmenite and lighter Feldspar, is a mineral composite body, produced using a process that mirrors the way proposed materials such as Lunarcrete could theoretically be used to build on the moon’s surface.

The image displayed by Phase is of the near side of the Moon. Released by NASA in 2014, it is a mosaic that combines 15,000 wide-angle photographs taken in orbit from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter between 2009-2011. This reveals the Moon in an impossible state, consistently illuminated, unlike photographs taken from Earth which have strong directional illumination from the sun. 

Developed over four years, the almost impossibly slender object is engineered to be as compact as possible. Up close, it feels spellbindingly spherical rather than flat. A template and custom bracketry guides you through the simple installation process. There are no visible fixings so Phase renders a pure, unobstructed, and distraction-free up-close encounter with the moon’s otherworldly allure. 

The antithesis of looking at a screen, Roland describes how Phase is “a very slow, constant reminder to take a moment. It fills a longing for a slower timescale to live to.” Designed using the principles of “calm technology,” the collectible piece has a 3-button interface to adjust brightness and set the date and time without the need to connect it with an app or a Wi-Fi connection. Using its backup battery, Phase can be powered on and off as desired, starting back up in the correct phase. It has three different modes that are all dimmable: Temporally synchronized with the Moon, Fully illuminated, and Short, a preview lunar animation started by touch.

The stages Phase moves through happen in our peripheral awareness. As Roland whimsically puts it, “You don’t see it change but you feel it change.” Fundamentally, Phase’s emotional skeleton seems rooted in how the piece prompts a greater understanding of our surroundings and strengthens our link with the natural world as well. As Phase evokes an ever-lingering sense of calm through the moon’s gentle cycle, it helps you recenter and capture the present moment to its fullest. You immerse yourself in those precious contemplations that allow for explorations of the self just as much as they hold the power to ameliorate your perceptions of the physical world.

Relative Distance blends Roland’s and Dev’s passion for physics and astronomy with their innovative and imaginative design mindsets: “Roland and I like this idea about understanding the way in which you measure because nothing exists by itself. When you measure anything at all, it’s always with reference to some other thing. All distances are relative to something. Everything’s about relationships. In order by which you understand the relative distance between things, you better understand yourself. If you can’t measure the world, how can you understand who you are?”

The studio is also a natural extension of Roland and Dev’s storied friendship. Lunch pals for years, they bonded over colorful conversations about technical challenges. Roland’s face lights up as he describes how he and Dev “have a really good flow when it comes to allocating time to the right problems to solve. The way Dev’s mind tackles the cultural and technical elements of something is super interesting. We can jump between conceptual ideas and technical frameworks.” Dev swiftly adds a description of what lies at the core of the dynamic between them: “There is a rhythm–a very, very natural and comfortable rhythm in conversations with Roland. It has momentum, it goes somewhere and always feels effortless.” 

Looking ahead, the creative duo plans to craft a larger Phase variant which will showcase a more detailed print. Dev shares how “having a similarly impactful thing that works in a more public environment like a lobby or a restaurant is something we’re keen to get on the way.” Concurrently, the workbench behind them is covered in sketches and prototypes of objects in varying stages of development both are “excited to get out” as well as revealing bits and pieces from potential collaborations they’re brainstorming on. 

With its refined and intuitive design, Phase is a piece that uniquely sits inside every room. Its enduring elegance and practicability are a testament to Roland and Dev’s more than two decades of experience in designing artworks with a distinct presence. In more ways than one, Phase heralds the beginning of a new chapter in their professional journeys that just might be the most exciting one yet.