Aureate
Poject brief:
A lantern with adjustable shades and removable candle holder.
Inspiration:
Born a fire ox, I chose isolation, unexpectedly to others. Isolation is to remain alone or apart from others, however, some say I have an outgoing appearance. Truthfully, I identify as an introvert. Isolation does not mean loneliness or reclusiveness but simply, being oblivious to the world while I exist in my own peace and time to refocus on myself.
My Chinese name “炜” (wei) — glowing, alludes to my inner self as the flame. The
8 strokes are reflected in an octagonal base to signify my physical self. Surrounding the flame, gold threads decorating a translucent fabric is woven through the acrylic frames, conveying isolation and oblivion. Yet, the gold threads depict my “extroverted self” that interacts with outsiders.
Product description:
The idea of isolation in my perspective has never been a negative aspect but a time for reflection and recharging of my energy. Originally, I wanted a concept with a more organic form, using rice paper. However, my sketches for the lampshade’s structure seemed unstable, hence I went to rethink my idea. From the beginning, I have always saw my inner and true self as the flame because of my Chinese name “炜” (wei), which means glowing. As a result of this, I further deconstructed my name and with “炜” having 8 strokes, I wanted an octagonal base which I considered as my physical self.
To create the isolation and oblivion from the world, I wanted a material to shield the flame from the “outside” world. The reason behind selecting a translucent material was that it created a veil whereby although the candle was hidden, the flame still shone through which was symbolic to represent if the outside world was observant enough, one could have spot the true me. At first, I wanted to raster acrylic panels to create the translucency. However with Dr. Chalit’s advice, I changed it to an acrylic frame woven with a polyester fabric that was decorated with gold threads for a less rigid structure.
Acrylic frames represent the hidden barrier between me and the outside world and along with the fabric, it created a facade of my extroverted self when interacting with others that is symbolic of the gold threads.
The motif chosen for the base plate was to show my true self radiating from the flame yet the radiation is stopped and protected by the acrylic frame and woven fabric.