Lunuganga

The designers from the group WOKmedia, Julie Mathias and Wolfgang Kaeppner, are based in London with a production studio in Shanghai.
"Wokmedia’s work is primarily concerned with the emotional dimension, an archetypal memory or a physical sensation", they have described on their site, and I think a good example of this is these "Lunuganga" shelves, since they were inspired from a trip to Sri Lanka and a flooding and the cultural shock they experienced, when they made them. Check out more interesting projects and products by clicking more...



Lunuganga
"We wanted to take something of the feeling of the
flooded environment home, a seed of the jungle to plant in your house
which might invade it and take over. We took the image of partially submerged trees and translated it into shelves that have both the
qualities of the overgrown lake that surrounded us and the quietness of
European furniture."
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Made in China
"The work, featuring traditional Chinese furniture embedded with hand-carved wooden toys and finished in white lacquer, is a result of our extended stay in China as part of a collaboration with Contrasts Gallery of Shanghai. Seemingly innocent children toys act as a kind of space invaders emerging from a world hidden inside our childhood memories. Specifically invading antique Chinese furniture, starting to threaten their traditional past."

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New breed
"Shown at Design Miami last December. The work was commissioned by Contrasts Gallery and Pearl Lam and first launched at the Crossover Exhibition Shanghai beginning of September 2006. New Breed consisting of 69 partly broken upscale porcelain eggs. These are suspended from the ceiling and strewn on the ground. Inside each porcelain eggshells there are hand painted Chinese erotic drawings (traditionally produced by native craftsmen). It is as if each broken egg reveals some dark truth about its procreation; a reflection on notions of sexuality (and of their liberalization) in China. (Porcelain, inside painted through a small opening.
W 330-380 mm x diam. 270-300 mm)"

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Between the lines
"During Design Miami in December 2007 we presented a new ‘bookcase’ called ‘Between Lines’. The work consists of seven mirror polished, stainless steel letter bands. The one-off edition piece marks the first set of a production line which will be launched in Milan 2008 and will be available in a rubber coated finish. Each of the 2.70 meter letter bands can be coiled up to a small roll, unfolded and reshaped to an infinite array of configurations. Without additional brackets the letter bands are simply screwed to the wall. The typical means of a book shelf which to often gets covered in layers of dust is thrown out of centre movement is favoured over stability. The shelf transforms into a sculpture and yet it reveals the beauty of the book covers and its content. When letters get mixed up, repeated, or when content gets confused and explanation fails an explosion of letters creates an unorganized support to hold our literature. Giving insight rather in closing its content which is to often covered with dust. Offering the possibilities to present them open rather having them closed and inviting to read ‘Between the Lines’."

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Blow
"A ball shaped fan switched on and off using a baby fan mounted on its casing. You blow the little fan to turn on the main propeller, then stop it with your finger to switch it off. The fans spherical mesh body sits in a coil of cable like an egg in an egg cup so that it can be angled exactly as you need it. Your interaction with Blow is both playful and threatening, the tension around the normally forbidden action of putting your finger in a fan is set against the delightful discovery that your blow is answered in the same language. Design and concept in collaboration with Michael Cross."



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Flood design museum tank
"A light that explores our nervousness around electricity, addressing it with a childish naivety using the archetype of a light bulb in water and apparently shoddy wiring to produce an icon of a ‘bad idea’ that works despite itself. Flood light is a serious proposition for a product, it is fascinating and beautiful and can be placed in the home. Only the idea is dangerous, not the product. Only the idea is dangerous, not the product."

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Night watch
"Canary Wharf commissioned us to create a new large-scale light installation for the annual winter lighting exhibition in Jubilee Park, to enliven the dark winter months.
Night Watch employs the ancient Chinese art of inside painting where an image is reverse-painted through a small opening of a hollowed crystal ball. We have used the technique to paint a stunning variety of animal eyes into 200 crystal balls, which will be placed throughout the park, among the bushes and trees. In collaboration with lighting designer Admir Jukanovic/Mindseye the crystal balls are illuminated through automotive lights, resulting in a mesmerizing glow similar to animal eyes hit by a beam of light. When night falls a secret life unfolds that we tend to forget. The eyes tell the story of a creature’s life: its sources of food, its habits, its fears, and the history of its kind. Our vision was to create an installation that is looking at us as much as to be looked at. Being watched and observed has become an almost accepted part of our lives. The animal eyes act as metaphors: a questioning gaze towards our secured and controlled environments with little space left undeveloped."