Kin

KIN is a unique capsule in an ongoing sculptural lighting series — a return to play, to cloth, and to the quiet rituals of making. Drawing on practices of pattern-making, dye work, and costume construction, the works sit between homage and evolution. Each lamp is gently personified, its softly tilted head lending a tender poise, as if paused mid-conversation or caught mid-stitch.

Crafted from inherited cotton rolls and hand-painted with reactive dyes, KIN unfolds as an exchange of gesture and time. Exposed seams and unevenly spaced panels align with the internal scaffolding, celebrating the idiosyncrasies of lampshade construction. Rather than conceal its structure, the work reveals it — allowing thread, dye, and steel to remain present as markers of labour, lineage, and care.

Developed as a continuation and refinement of the early Toile lamps, KIN carries forward their provisional calico studies into a more resolved yet still process-led form.

Developed and presented as part of the NGV Rigg Design Prize, 2024.

Materials

Deadstock and inherited cotton; hand-applied reactive dyes; calico; steel frame and internal scaffolding; antique lace, buttons, velvet ribbon; integrated lighting components.