My interest and practice with creating lamps started in Leiden when friends asked me to make a lamp for everyone who finished his study, as a farewell gift. Because it had to be cheap I started creating them with found materials like stones and old copper water pipes. There I felt the sensation of being directed in my design by the form I found.
After that I started to create room dividers out of used fruit boxes and again was forced and inspired to let the measures of that boxes be decisive for the design.
By creating in this way I learned to watch closely what is around me, because there I found the materials I needed, and at the same time learned to find technical solutions for what I wanted, due to the fact that I work with strange and completely different materials with applications they were not made for (a crane or tap as an electricity switch for example) .
Another aspect of lamps is the light itself. I experienced that there is no light without shadow or darkness. This may sound familiar but is often forgotten and fascinates me. Once somebody asked me where the light goes when you put out all the lights in the house. To my surprise the simple answer was: in the fridge! It seems logic but you have to be clever enough to think about it!
I learned that using light on objects creates shadow for them and gives them more depth and dimension. I decided to bring objects towards the light so now I create objects that give light.
Often people take a space for granted. With my work and the light it brings I let people wonder about that space and the details that go with it.
Lamp by artist and designer Alexander ten Bruggencate
Alexander ten Bruggencate 