Contour mural no.1
Contour
Custom installation
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For Big Art 2024 — a pop-up platform for XL art installations — we were given an impressive, weathered wall, 3 meters high and 5 meters wide, as our canvas to present a light artwork. It reminded us of a previous commission, for which we had sketched four designs for a wall-mounted light sculpture. One of these designs stood out as perfect for Big Art, provided we could find a way to incorporate the entire wall into the design.
Contour is a lighting system from our collection, in which we design a unique combination of geometric shapes for each location, harmoniously woven into a balanced composition. The designs often have a somewhat galactic feel; the smaller models are aptly named Mist and Moon. Our favorite design from the four sketches was fittingly named ‘Space.’
We had long been searching for a way to integrate larger spaces and surfaces into our light designs. The idea of adding a sketch-like underlayer emerged while meticulously working on scale models. Sometimes, when we attach these models to a surface, we add graphic elements with pencil or fineliner. It’s a playful and intuitive exercise in finding the perfect harmony in filling the space, balancing light and shadow, and material density and texture.
For a monumental wall like the one at Big Art, creating a graphic underlayer via a mural proved to be the perfect way to fully incorporate the space into the design of ‘Space.’ We created various scale models, using the cosmic theme as a guiding principle. Based on selected elements from the models, the mural was brought to life on-site, by hand. It was executed in lead grey and applied sketchily with a fine brush.
The rough wall serves as a powerful contrast to the perfectly finished light work — a play between precision and looseness. The sketch-like mural acts as an ideal intermediary layer. The light subtly highlights the mural, allowing the three layers to seamlessly merge into one unified whole.
Date: September 2024
Location: Amsterdam
