‘Elephant Lamp’, 2022
Samuel Lambert and Darius Laprise
By Adrian Madlener / 25th February 2022
Samuel Lambert and Darius Laprise, ‘Elephant Lamp’, 2022
COURTESY: Lambert & Fils / PHOTOGRAPH: Jonathan Hökklo, courtesy of Head Hi, Brooklyn
MUCH LIKE THE majestic animal it’s named for, ‘The Elephant Lamp’ embodies a duality. Cast in a slate blue hue, the rectilinear luminaire is lightweight yet sturdy, elegant and imposing. Resembling a brutalist building, the table fixture comprises aluminium extrusions that form a cantilevered top. A few of its neatly ordered square tubes intermittently extend beyond this central massing to form literal legs. The design is a playful yet refined architectural distillation of the mammal’s recognised form.
Developed by Samuel Lambert – founder of renowned Montreal-based lighting brand Lambert & Fils – and his stepson Darius Laprise, the one-off lamp was created for Brooklyn-based platform HEAD HI’s third annual Lamp Show (on view from 26th February to 26th March 2022).
“The exhibition is about bringing people of all disciplines and backgrounds together to interpret the lamp, a tool used worldwide that represents innovation and keeps evolving,” explains the bookstore/gallery’s co-founder Alexandra Hodkowski. “Lamps set the mood of any space, and we wanted to explore the possibilities of this object through materials, concepts, technology and craftsmanship.”
From a record number of submissions made by a wide range of contemporary talents, Hodkowski and partner Mösco Alcocer choose 50 designs ranging in price from $100 to $10,000. Throughout the show’s run, visitors are invited to nominate their favourites. The designer of the piece with the most votes will receive a special acknowledgement and a stay at the Ace Hotel Brooklyn this spring.
Lambert and Laprise set out to create their contribution with all of this in mind. Such a short turnaround time allowed them to break out of the long research and development process typical when conceiving a new product and working more spontaneously. “It was such a joy to play with shapes in a free yet frantic manner,” the company founder expresses. This labour of love was inspired by the times he and a young Laprise spent building lego sets.
“I could never have imagined that one day, we would create a real light fixture together,” Lambert adds. “Then again, our exploration felt very much connected to child’s play, where constraints become a driving force and objects so easily take a life of their own, so long as we let our minds roam free.”
Adrian Madlener is a Brussels-born, New York-based writer covering a wide range of design-related topics.
View all articles by Adrian Madlener
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