Marta Bordes is an architect and designer born in Spain and based in London. Elastic Lights is the last collection created by designer. She graduated from MA Architecture at ETSAM (Madrid). While working as an architect she started to be interested in ceramics and studied at Escuela de Cerámica Francisco Alcántara (Madrid). In 2015 she graduated from MA Design Ceramics, Furniture and Jewellery at Central Saint Martins.
The designer’s presentation: Elastic Lights is a collection of articulated ceramic lamps that playfully yet purposefully questions the role of traditional ceramic objects. We often see ceramics in our everyday objects but rarely as part of a mechanism. On the other hand, mechanical ceramics are widely used in advanced technology. The aim of this project is to challenge traditional ceramics by designing an articulated mechanism that explores the technical properties of the material, offering a colourful, amusing and rigorous open system that can be used in further applications.
Simple geometric components linked by elastic cords reveal the function as a visual feature. The playfulness of the system invites you to manipulate the lamps and enjoy the feeling of the pieces sliding smoothly around each other. The whole lamp is the mechanism and each lamp can form part of a larger, more complex and interrelated ensemble. The versatility of the collection and the use of colour make them subtle artefacts suitable for diverse atmospheres and moods, from rational and paired down to the most eccentric.
