paul cocksedge 'swell' and 'light as air ceramic' for yamagiwa at milan design week 09

‘swell’ by paul cocksedge for yamagiwa

cocksedge’s fascination with the natural phenomenon of materials expanding and contracting all around us, like ice and water has been the starting point of this lamp. the suspended bulb initially appears a solid coloured glass volume. once switched on, the contained liquid slowly heats up and expands, rising up through the tube like a thermometer.

detail of ‘swell’ by paul cocksedgethis gradual, gentle process dynamically celebrates the by-product of the incandescent bulb: heat.

‘swell’ image © designboom

‘swell’ image © designboom

‘swell’ image © designboom

‘light as air ceramic’ image © designboom

‘light as air ceramic’ image © designboom

cocksedge has now selected his favourite shapes to be cast for yamagiwa’s ‘light as air ceramic’ series.

‘light as air ceramic’ image © designboom

the LED light source within each form has several lighting settings. the preferred program fades on and off very calmly, conveying the light as ‘breath’ as it escapes upwards through the organic mouth. the breathing of the light relates back to the heart of the concept: blowing air to create form.

‘light as air ceramic’ image © designboom

the original ‘light as air’ was born out of cocksedge wondering whether he might blow materials other than glass. working with PVC, beautifully shaped objects appeared that looked as though they were from the potter’s wheel, albeit with a super high gloss finish.the edition of 77 unique lighting forms was unveiled in london in 2006.

paul cocksedge