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M+, Hong Kong, © Álvaro Catalán de Ocón
Álvaro Catalán de Ocón 艾華路．德奧康
PET Lamp: Pikul, model S (Thailand) PET 燈：香欖花， 小型（泰國）
2018
This hanging lamp, with shades of different shapes and styles hanging from cords of different colours, is the product of an ongoing exercise in creative recycling and craft entrepreneurship by Madrid-based designer Álvaro Catalán de Ocón. The basket-like lampshades are made by weaving natural fibres—palm, bamboo, or wool—onto a warp formed from sliced-open PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles. PET drink bottles comprise a large portion of the plastic waste that threatens the Earth’s oceans; Catalán de Ocón’s project exemplifies a growing interest among designers in reducing the harmful global impacts of plastic consumption.
The production of the lamps also aims to revitalise local craft traditions. The first examples were woven by artisans in Colombia, and the project has since expanded to Chile, Ethiopia, and Thailand. By connecting with the basket-weaving approaches distinct to each place, Catalán de Ocón’s cross-cultural design posits weaving as a unifying technique of human creativity. Building on a recent history of designers looking to indigenous craft as means of supporting both commerce and culture for disadvantaged communities and regions, Catalán de Ocón draws attention to the largely invisible labour of production. As designers increasingly grapple with the uneven social and economic dynamics of industrial manufacturing and distribution in a globalised economy, the effectiveness of socially motivated design schemes can be difficult to assess.
The production of the lamps also aims to revitalise local craft traditions. The first examples were woven by artisans in Colombia, and the project has since expanded to Chile, Ethiopia, and Thailand. By connecting with the basket-weaving approaches distinct to each place, Catalán de Ocón’s cross-cultural design posits weaving as a unifying technique of human creativity. Building on a recent history of designers looking to indigenous craft as means of supporting both commerce and culture for disadvantaged communities and regions, Catalán de Ocón draws attention to the largely invisible labour of production. As designers increasingly grapple with the uneven social and economic dynamics of industrial manufacturing and distribution in a globalised economy, the effectiveness of socially motivated design schemes can be difficult to assess.
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