These pendant lampshades, specifically designed for the “Cafe and Sea” Project (Bailuwan, China, 2023), form a collection of 21 light sculptures.

The prevailing subject matter throughout the works of this collection is Symmetry and Transparency. These principles are determined by the properties and physicality of the materials, as well as the methodology of assemblage. In this way, form is defined by the structural stability of shape and material against deformation. Transparency lies in the number and opacity of overlapping layers and colors.

The collection is based on the morphology and appearance of Cnidarians, particularly Shiphonophorae and Semaeostomeae, and other gelatinous zooplankton such as Ctenophora. Some of these ethereal marine organisms, i.e. Aequorea, are known to be bioluminescent; others, like Ctenophores (comb jellies) have iridescent cilia.

The hydrostatic skeleton which give Cnidarians their shape is a jelly-like substance high in water content, known as Mesoglea, which is limited by two microscopic layers of epithelium. The construction system of the sculptural lampshades of the “Café and Sea” collection is inspired by this unique morphological adaptation: A simple inner structure of transparent polycarbonate constrains the external layers of polypropylene and polyethylene. This force exerted on the material naturally shapes the lampshade and arranges the opposing layers, openings and spaces which propagate or conceal light.

The title of this series, ‘Carabelas’, references the small Spanish and Portuguese wooden vessels used for long voyages across the oceans. But it also alludes to specific species of colonial Cnidarians, namely Physalia and Velella, known in some countries as caravels.