I’d been given a few sheets of 10mm recycled acrylic out of a skip from an undisclosed underground station in London. It was so thick it called for an idea that could make it stand up on it’s own, upright like a screen of thick glass.
Another few laser tests with Aaron and some makeshift bases to prove the idea worked and i was ready to do an open ended edition of them, I just had to find a way of housing the LED’s that shone through the sheet and hit the etched low points engraved on the back.
Thankfully each year at Glastonbury i work with a bunch of very talented makers. One of the best is a mate called Liam Hayhow. He’s a jack of all trades as well as a talented artist in his own right. His broad knowledge of materials and invaluable skills with them would make developing this wooden based acrylic light possible . We made a prototype to prove it could all work, Liams another hoarder and has a wide range of tatted wood and bits and pieces gathered during his eclectic work and squatting life.
We found a wonderful red hardwood post that was just the right length to produce 5 of these lamp bases. I left the LED controllers and power supplies with Liam to try and work out how to hide them elegantly into the base.
Most of the to and fro on the designs of these were done over WhatsApp from one studio to another. The first videos of these working upright were truly a highlight of these Lockdown experiments.
All of these works made during these troubling, isolating times have been a mix of a desire to create, experiment with new materials and a need to keep working with the people I have worked with over the last 10 years. It’s been a tough year for all of us, I am just glad I’ve had the opportunity to try something new with friends I usually work with. Hopefully they work aesthetically as well as they have helped keep the contact between the network that i call friends.
– Unique work