This family of different sized and shaped 'Totem lamps' derive from a series by the acclaimed design-duo Karhof-Trotereau called ‘ShadeVolume’. An impressive lighting collection inspired by the classic lampshade. By combining and deforming this familiar object, the project explores a new language of lighting. They are an excellent eyecatcher and a secret source for a myriad of special Interior effects and light installations.
Lampshades may appear trivial and common in our daily life but the principle of this unnoticed object is an interesting way to redefine the light around us. The lamps explore the possibility of shaping a light source by creating a thin and insignificant skin around it. They can be custom-made in different sizes for impressive Interior Design solutions, especially vibrant in the hospitality area. Please inquire for sizes, types and possibilities. Merel Karhof and Marc Tortereau are Royal College of Art graduates.
The process could be likened to Isamu Noguchi’s take on the Japanese traditional rice paper Gifu lantern to create ‘Akari’. Akari means, illumination but is also implying the idea of weightlessness. One of Noguchi’s famous quotes puts his source of illumination at the heart of the home: ‘All you require to start a home are a room, a tatami and Akari’.
Trotereau and Karhof sense that Noguchi’s notion of light and space remains contemporary. The Designers state: ‘One could design environments as ‘weightless’ as possible: conceiving living spaces with few objects that use almost no material and yet shape significantly our surroundings.'