Over 50 years ago, designers Tobia Scarpa and the Castiglioni brothers dreamed up a number of (now iconic) lamps using a spray-on coating polymer; giving a sense of magic to the light it emanated, which shined warmly through cloud-like material. Their experimentation with cocoon style lighting ultimately led to the founding of lighting company FLOS, and today, FLOS is honoring that technique.
Overlap, a new contemporary pendant lamp, is designer Michael Anastassiades’ tribute to the distinct cocoon wrapping technique that the lighting company has won several hearts and awards with. This contemporary pendant light is made from steel and cocoon, while its internal structure comprises of white powder painted steel.
Each lamp consists of two layers of cocoon, the first thicker, the second much thinner, applied through a spray gun while the frame twirls on a spinning base. A final transparent paint is then applied to add a sheen. The resulting skin is very similar to a real cocoon made by a silkworm, hence the naming of the technique.
Overlap plays with the idea of the space that exists between two perpendicular planes, leaving the imagination to complete the geometry. Anastassiades uses the cocoon wrapping to create visual interest so that the interlocking rings appear as if they are trying to push through the membrane.
This thoroughly modern spin on a classic technique takes the suggestion of hard angles and bathes them in soft light to illuminate any space in a way that is both subtle and intriguing.
Photos via FLOS.
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