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moss > Fall of the Damned suspension light

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Fall of the Damned
suspension light

designer:
Luc Merx

design year:
2007

manufacturer:
.MGX by Materialise, Belgium

materials:
nylon (built through Selective Laser Sintering);accommodates one 9 watt low-energy bulb

notes:
This extraordinary object is composed of an algorithmically-derived mass of writhing nudes that recalls the classic motif of The Fall of the Damned. The lampshade appears as a hovering mass of ornaments, opulent and bombastic. When looked at from closer point of view it dissolves into single bodies, which are twisted in fear and seem to be frozen in falling. Their rhythmic order becomes slightly perplexing and finally renders the bodies an ornament. Softly, like the fleshy parts of the bodies, legs and stomachs relfect the light. Because of the shadows the bodies cast on themselves, only parts of them appear in the foreground. Only fragments of the lit inner part of the lamp are distinguishable. The aspects of the lit core change whenever the observer changes his position. These movements of the observer transform the stiff bodies into dynamic objects. The association with The Fall of the Damned, a metaphor for guilt and punishment gives the lamp a certain amount of ambivalence: is it a moralistic message, an act of formalism, or both?

The Fall of the Damned is one of the works in which Merx reactivates historic imagery as a reference for his designs. The design of this lamp undermines several taboos imposed on design in the 20th century: it is figurative, ornamental, and narrative.

This work was born of Merx's "Rococo Relevance", a historical and experimental research project through which he examines the parallels between tendencies in contemporary architectural design and those of the 18th century.

produced in a limited edition of 40 pieces

dimensions:
23.75" x 24.75", height: 10.75"

price upon request