POIKILOS

Iridescence is among the most elusive visual phenomena; it seems to exist only at the moment we are seeing it and is different for each of us depending on our location, the light around us, the gaze, the time of day, and perhaps even our mood. It has the charm of dazzling and unexpected things, that vibrate and cannot stand still. It is no coincidence that the earliest references to the concept of iridescence—which date back to ancient Greece—refer to the coat or skin of living creatures. Poikilos was, in fact, the word used at the time to describe the mottled fur of a running leopard or the iridescent skin of a snake. Iridescence seems to originate from a movement or movements and remain alive in them.