Royal School of Needlework Associate Award Winner

Life Lamp characterizes the three seasons of human life with its veneer layers. We grow up in the playful, colourful and bright season of childhood, walk into straight, rigid, dull adulthood and finally we reach the calm and balanced season of “senior-hood”. These stereotypes were taken to the extreme to clearly portray the differences between each of the stages of life. The embroidered graphics are inspired by the semantics of these stereotypes. The light in the middle of the lamp shines through the wooden layers and the small holes of the embroidery. It symbolises our life energy becoming less intense with time. Furthermore it shows the influence the different life seasons have on each other as well as their interconnection, displayed by the small, colourful yarns.

The birch veneer was laser cut and bent before being embroidered with white yarn. Finally it was dyed. The mounts are built out of Ureol, a polyurethane block material, filled and coated with lacquer. The bottom is made of frosted acrylic glass, as are the small lamp stands. After assembling the lamp the three colourful yarns were embroidered from layer to layer and the upper edges were scorched.