London-based designer Billy Easter has released a cubic table lamp made from silicone that can change colour by manually slotting different translucent slabs into it.
The Gel Lamp, released last month through Easter‘s studio Public Parts, comprises a hollow cube of silicone –measuring approximately 11.5-by-11.5-by-11.5 centimetres – the base of which contains a dimmable LED.
A slim slot sits towards the bottom of the lamp’s body, into which slices of transparent coloured gels, also made of silicone, can be slid, changing the colour of the light accordingly.
Easter was informed by the thin films of coloured gel used in photography, studio and theatre lighting, which are placed directly over the lens to change the colour of light.
The designer created 3D-printed moulds into which she prepared and poured liquid silicone. Curing and casting each side of the lamp takes a matter of days, after which the lamps are hand-finished. The same process applies to the coloured slides.
The light source itself is held within a recessed void rather than being permanently embedded within the silicone, making the electronics easy to access and replace when needed and extending the lamp’s lifetime.
Easter created 13 coloured slabs – all featuring the studio’s name embossed along one edge – that transform the light from its default cool white to a rainbow of different hues.
“There’s a small sense of ritual to the Gel Lamp,” Easter told Dezeen. “I like the physical act of choosing a colour and sliding the gel into the lamp to change the atmosphere of a room.”
“It’s a very simple interaction, but it makes adjusting the light feel more tactile and deliberate than pressing a button or changing a setting on a screen,” she continued.
Despite its capacity for changing colour, the designer also envisages the lamp being a design object in its own right even when not lit up.
“It’s important to me that the lamps have a presence as sculptural objects when they’re switched off,” Easter said.
Despite the lamps’ statuesque appearance, the silicone material makes them surprisingly durable and readily cleanable, allowing them to withstand the day-to-day knocks and bumps of domestic life.
As well as residential spaces, the designer envisages them being used in hospitality interiors to provide warmth, intimacy and visual interest.
The lamp is produced in individually-numbered batches of limited amounts. The lamp’s cost of £375 includes a single lamp as well as two interchangeable silicone gel slabs.
Easter specialises in the design and manufacturing of hand-cast silicone objects. Alongside the Gel Lamp, previous releases have included silicone coasters, wearables and sex toys.
Other lamp designs recently published on Dezeen include Ilse Crawford’s understated lamps for IKEA, a lamp by Blond designed by a 12-year-old and statuesque lamps made from surplus glassware.
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