Bamboo Chandelier
What's on
PAD London 2022
This year Osanna Visconti presents her Bamboo Chandelier, an exclusive design for Nilufar at PAD London 2022 Art + Design Fair , which will be on display from 10 - 16 OCTOBER.
All of Osanna Visconti’s creations are fused in natural bronze using the lost-wax casting method. This ancient technique works with a negative form in which molten metal is cast. While many of Osanna's creations are made from her wax models which she moulds by hand, the Bamboo creations are formed of real Bamboo stalks. Covered in terracotta and disintegrated in a giant kiln, their negative shape is filled with liquid bronze in the art foundry.
Osanna takes you through the working process of creating this unique piece part of her Bamboo collection.
PAD London 2022
LONDON
DESIGN+ART
10 - 16 OCTOBER 2022
BERKELEY SQUARE
BAMBOO
CHANDELIER
EXCLUSIVE DESIGN FOR
NILUFAR
“I would define myself as an artisan because I love crafting things, but I also consider myself a designer. I love being in the art foundry, spending my days modelling with my hands.”
Creative Process
Inspiration
Osanna traveled to Japan in order to explore different approaches to design. She immediately felt an affinity with Japanese culture and its focus on nature and simplicity. Osanna was particularly inspired by the concept of Wabi-Sabi. Wabi referring to the understated elegance of imperfections in handmade objects; Sabi celebrating the beauty of objects that have aged and the sentimental value in their defects. This theme is reoccurring in many of Osanna's projects, where unassuming items like leaves and bamboo are transformed into works of art. While traditional sculptures are thought to be polished and flawless, Osanna embraces texture and blemishes in her metal castings. An aesthetic that is organic and true to life.
Creative Process
Raw Material
Osanna sources the Bamboo stalks from a Bamboo Forest on the outskirts of the greater metropolitan area of Milan. They are brought to the art foundry where she lays them out on a table. Osanna studies each one to pick the stalks with the most interesting shapes and textures. They are cut into pieces of various sizes; the bottom parts used for more robust projects like the Bamboo library and screen, while the mid sections and top halves are used for the chandelier, seats and mirror.
Coverture Phase
Rather than using a wax mould, the stalks are covered in terracotta and disintegrated in a giant kiln for weeks. Their negative shape is then filled with liquid bronze, at a temperature of 1200°C.
In the Making
Extraction
After the Bronze is extracted from the refractory mould, it is grinded and recycled. The cast-bronze pieces are then washed with a high-pressure water stream. At that point, Osanna inspects the stalks and marks where they should be welded together, according to the composite of her design. Thicker pieces are used to hold the LED lighting, while the smaller fine point branches are used to add more dimension and layers to the chandelier.
In the Making
Welding
Osanna guides the construction of the chandelier, indicating where the cast-bronze Bamboo stalks should be welded together.
Completed Project
Installation
Osanna Visconti's one-of-a-kind Bamboo chandelier is ready to be mounted!
