I endeavoured to make new lights from discarded lights, a seemingly easy proposition to start from, however, the reclaim project proofed to be a difficult challenge. Taking a floor or table lamp from the scrapheap and developing a new and perhaps up-to-the-minute design interpretation of these archetypes looked like a reasonable task.
Several visits to the recycling station made clear that the lights ending up there were discarded for a reason; they were compromised either in function or in style. Being typically recent and affordable consumer products, these objects had been produced in a highly efficient way, often reduced to the bare minimum, both in design and the materials used.
The hard, shiny surfaces provided me with a starting point for reclaiming these objects. Stretching an elastic, fabric-tubing material over the existing foot, stem and head transformed the appearance of these lamps significantly. It morphed their parts into one continuous form while emphasising their underlying proportions and archetypes.
The resulting objects are more studies in form, variations to lighting, than new design objects. However, by using the latest efficient LED bulbs, these lamps are reclaiming a new environment awareness.