Earth to Sky
Light Sculptures
For the first time, Doshi Levien present a very special collection of unique pieces called EARTH TO SKY. Entirely self-produced, these luminous objects represent a new step forward for the design studio. Beauty, levity, honesty, soulfulness and skilled craftsmanship are all essential components of these magical sculptures. The collection perfectly symbolizes the idea of “Earth to Sky”. Earth through the hand craftsmanship, the hammer on metal, the heaviness of the materials. Sky with the aerial, ethereal quality of the sculptures, like precious creatures suspended in air.
Photos by Jonas Lindström
Text by Yves Mirande
The E A R T H TO S K Y collection (7 objects) is the result of perseverance and time, of synchronicity, intuition and fortuitous encounters. First, Nipa Doshi and Jonathan Levien’s desire to create something truly unique. Not lamps or lights, but magical sculptures. So, the designers set out to explore lighting as a sculptural object, rather than a functional, utilitarian creation. “I remember the exact moment the idea arrived. I was sketching, and exploring the coming together of linearity and geometry, with free form. This balance, this interplay is really a subject close to my heart. I was drawing fine lines next to intuitive, curvaceous, sculptural forms. Nipa picked up the hole-punch, pierced one of the shapes and put a line through it. We then realised we no longer had just a composition, but an actual structure. A very organic sculpture.” (Doshi Levien).
After the idea, the desire, the drawings… came the search for fabricators with exceptional craft skills capable of producing this unique collection. The objects were formed through the art of metal-shaping, using relatively simple rolling machines used for restoring sophisticated car bodies of the E-Type and XK1 Jaguars. The sculptural forms of the shades were arrived at through the process of pattern cutting and forming used to create structural garments. Each individual shape is made of at least two pieces of automotive grade aluminium that are beaten into shape on a wooden block with a mallet, then seamlessly welded together to form the complete shape.” they are not only structures, they are something spatial, sculptural. We knew we had a really interesting direction because the project is truly a combination of space, light and form.
“I was thinking about what attracts me to fine craftsmanship. I realise that it’s the idea that something has been made to the best of man’s ability within the limitations of materials and processes. How beautifully made details, revealing the work of a skilled hand, become a powerful expression of human endeavour”. Jonathan Levien.