PET LAMP

Alvaro Catalán de Ocón

31/10/13. (Sala 300)

La Sala Vinçon’s 99 PET Lamp.
31st October – 23rd November 2013.

In a journey to Bogota during the summer of 2011 the spanish designer Alvaro Catalan de Ocon was invited to form part of a project regarding the reuse of PET plastic bottles. Washed away by the heavy tropical rains to the colombian Amazon river. The plastic bottles end up in the sea and are swept by the currents to the point where the plastic end up forming big islands of waste. The biggest is in the centre of the Pacific and known as the Seventh Continent.

It’s a contradiction to throw away an object with an extremely long life of around 500 years and which takes an enormous amount of energy to manufacture. As a point of reflection the designer decided to create an object with a much longer life span, a series of lamps which combines one of the most industrial products on earth to one of the most down to earth artisanal techniques found in every culture: the textile tradition.

The concept behind the lamps is simple: the body of the bottle is cut into vertical strips using the lines of the mould needed for its manufacture as a guide. These strips remain attached to the neck of the bottle becoming a surface on which to weave upon. The principle of weaving is reinterpreted into the warp through which the artisan weaves the weft. The neck, lid and screw of the bottle is left to serve as a perfect connection between the lampshade, the cable and other electrical components.

During the following summer (2012) the studio arranged to do a workshop in Bogota in collaboration with Artesanías de Colombia together with artisans from the Cauca region displaced by the guerrilla war in Bogota. They applied their traditional basket weaving techniques onto the bottle using their traditional Paja de Tetera fiber tinted with natural pigments reflecting the whole cosmogony of the original culture.

Álvaro Catalán de Ocón (Madrid 1975)
After completing his studies in Business Administration at the Complutese de Madrid University (1994-1999) he begins to study industrial design at the European Institute of Design in Milan (2000-01) and graduates at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design (2001-04) in London. Both of his thesis went into production by Suck.uk which can still be seen in the market today.

In 2004 he opens his first design studio in Barcelona where he designed “LA FLACA” (Skinny) lamp which won the DESIGN PLUS AWARD (Frankfurt) and the DELTA prize in Barcelona. The FLACA lamp is manufactured and distributed by Metalarte-Spain. In 2009 he settles in Madrid moving his studio to the city and gives lectures in the Product Design Lab Masters course at the European Institute of Design.

His work has been exhibited in galleries such as: Galleria Rossana Orlandi, (Milan – 2013, 2012 y 2011), Vitrahaus (Basel 2013) Piet Hein Heek (Heindhoven 2013), Merci (Paris 2013), Galería Show Me (Braga 2013), David Gill Galleries, Design Art Basel (Basel 2011), Galeria OA (Madrid 2010) and has participated in events like: Salone Satellite (Milan 2007 and 2010) honored with the DESIGN REPORT AWARD for best young designer of the year,“Spain Alight” at the Embassy of Spain in Tokyo during the 2011 design week, “Design Partners” and “Cable Factory” (Helsinki 2010 and 2013), “100 Designer Light” (Gwangju, South Korea 2007), ICFF (New York, 2005) etc. He has been curator of:“Helsinki – Madrid Findesign” exhibition held by the Matadero Cultural Centre together with Pedro Feduchi and Kari Korkman, Madrid 2010 and the “Juegos de Luz” exhibition at OA gallery (Madrid 2011).

Today he combines his work as a design consultant for companies with the self-production of some of his own designs and teaching. His designs can be found in galleries and shops of renowned prestige such as Rossana Orlandi in Milan, Mint and The Conran Shop in London, Le Bon Marché and Merci in Paris, the shop in the Guggenheim in Bilbao or the Mexican Gallery of design in Mexico City among others.

Cocktail opening:
Thursday 31st October from 8pm. Free entry.
Ends 23rd November 2013.