Japanese design studio Nendo's five-piece lighting collection, Light Fragments, reimagines Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi's iconic Akari lamp collection from the 1950s, which encompasses over 100 Japanese lanterns made from traditional washi paper and bamboo. Known predominantly for his work with stone sculptures, Noguchi similarly approached his Akari collection "as luminescent sculptures, rather than lighting equipment," according to Nendo. "Inspired by these facts, [they] imagined what if Akari had been carved directly from a massive form of light."
To achieve this effect, the designers hand-carved white acrylic boards to form delicate gradients from opaque to translucent to transparent. The thin layers were then enveloped in clear acrylic cubes to look as if they are suspended within the 3D shapes. Each of the lamps have a 0.3-inch-thick aluminum pipe positioned along the top of their perimeters, housing a line of downward-facing LEDs that illuminate the inside of the cube. The lamps are intended to "[replicate] the relationship between the sun and the moon, the sun is the source of light, and fragments receiving the light," the Japanese studio said. "Since the sun cannot be seen when the moon is shining, it is designed so that the source of light is not exposed."
The aluminum pipes also function as lamp legs, and are a more straightforward homage to the Akari pieces, which can be identified by the black finish and small, rounded caps on their metal legs.
Nendo's Light Fragments is part of the "Akari Unfolded: A Collection by Ymer & Malta" exhibition at the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York. The lamps in the show, which will be produced by French studio Ymer & Malta, features 26 works from six designers, including British industrial designer Sebastian Bergne. "Akari Unfolded" opens Feb. 28 and closes Jan. 27, 2019.
