AN ILLUMINATED CHOICE
21 Aug 2018
A classic form elevated to a whole new scale! Fun and funky, The Manchester Lamps is a public art installation created in celebration of Manchester’s rich history of innovation and community and doubles nicely as accessible street furniture and lighting.
Created by London-based studio Acrylicize, The Manchester Lamps introduces a bit of domesticity into the public landscape. This public art installation takes the form of a series of oversized, playful lamps that also function as street furniture and area lighting. Designed in celebration of the city’s rich history of innovation, each of the five installations takes the form of a distinctive period of artistic style: Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Victorian, Mid-century and Contemporary.
Placed in key public spaces around the city, the aim of the installations is to create unique meeting points for the people of Manchester, and provide a fun way to learn more about the area’s history. Image3
Within each lamp are woven various elements that convey the story of significant historical events. The designs on the Art Deco lamp mark the occasion of Earnest Rutherford’s splitting of the first atom at Manchester University in 1932. Illustrations of Alan Turing’s famous enigma code adorn the canopy of the Banker’s Desk Lamp as a salute to his contribution to math and computing technology, while the honeycomb lattice design across the 1950s red bedside lamp references the famous Mancunian ‘worker bee’ mantra, and the Art Nouveau lamp, covered in book pages and fountain pen designs, celebrates the UK’s oldest library, which is housed at Manchester University. In addition, a series of graphics and signs depicting an abstract map of Manchester draw passersby into the square, where they are met by an oversized version of the Angelpoise lamp, whose shade is turned upward to ‘project’ a mural graphic onto a nearby wall.
About Acrylicize
Acrylicize is an award-winning studio of artists, designers and craftsmen, disrupting both the traditional art world model and accepted notions of branding. www.acrylicize.com
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Images Acrylicize