lindsey adelman: ceres for mattermade

‘ceres lighting’ (detail) photography by joseph de leo

american designer lindsey adelman‘s latest work ‘ceres’ is a large-scale lighting piece which expands on her continuous investigation of the intersection between the natural and the manmade.

incorporating the use of sterile metal rods and joints in conjunction with warmer wooden elements, ‘ceres’ is meant to be a representation of a winter forest, inviting people to walk between the lights, which hang down from the ceiling and appear like trees. together, the components converge into slender, animated branches with chromatic linear glass lighting elements – some trees lit sparingly while others are blazing with light. the frosted glass tubes that encircle the work’s armature in some areas, are frosted and meant to evoke the feeling of ice or frost on tree limbs in winter. if one looks closely, some of these icy elements are lightly etched or sprayed with gold, perhaps suggesting moss or fungus.

left: ‘ceres F’ right: ‘ceres A’ photography by joseph de leo

upon each sinuous form, spindly rods and ‘branches’ bear witness to the inevitable passing of time; metallic barnacle-like forms grow outwards alongside variously shaped thorns, some precariously sharp. bronze chestnuts, water chestnuts, acorns and twigs can be found affixed to the arms and joints of the ‘trees’.

details of the metal joints and wooden branch elements photography by joseph de leo

frosted glass components are meant to emulate ice and frost photography by joseph de leo

left: ‘ceres E’ right: ‘ceres D’ photography by joseph de leo

metal barnacle-like forms decorate the ‘branches’ photography by joseph de leo

metal joint and branch components photography by joseph de leo

left: ‘ceres I + M’ right: ‘ceres O’

left: ‘ceres N’ right: ‘ceres L’

left: ‘ceres J’ right: ‘ceres K’

installation view at design miami 2010 image courtesy of mattermade

each fixture of the ceres installation stands as a separate work, and is available in an edition of ten. they are produced for new york-based furniture manufacturer mattermade and was on show at design miami 2010.

installation view at design miami 2010 image courtesy of mattermade

detail image courtesy of mattermade

lindsey adelman particpated in the designboom exhibition ‘NY local’. you can view images of her ‘branching bubble’ installation which was on display as part of the show here.