Featured in NUS DID Gradshow 2018, Singapore National Design Centre.
In current lighting solutions, the shade of the lamp is often of little purpose other than aesthetics or simply to direct light.
However, the bulb alone is more than enough to serve its primary purpose without the need for the shade - which is to provide light for the user.
Wv is an explorational project inspired by the symbiotic relationship between the husk and fruit of the physalis as a visceral indicator for ripeness.
As the fruit ripens, it turns from green to red becoming more prominent as the husk slowly sheds its protective membrane, revealing the fruit within.
As such, it portrays the notion of life growing within death both physically and allegorically.
Rattan weaving has had a long history in the southeast asian region. Singapore was once the biggest exporter of quality rattan goods up til the 1980s where the craft faced an abrupt halt.
Since then, the trade and skills needed to produce rattan goods have been dying off locally. There is thus the need to preserve the craft by placing it in the modern context. To bring this dying craft back to life.
By leveraging on the physalis’ philosophy, I seek to create a symbiotic relationship between the bulb and shape.
Where both the bulb and shade are weaved into a single entity.
By exploring various traditional rattan weaving techniques in combination with different lighting methods,
Wv is an exploration of how light can be given a form which imbues the spirit of traditional rattan weaving with a modern twist, bringing the dying craft back to life.
It also serves as a dialogue between the space and object by exploring the form of the lamp and manifestation of the light as it interacts with the space it is in as well the users in the space.
Where light takes form and serves as a dialogue between the space and object.
