The Pitch…. My lighting idea is one that has been on my mind for a few years now. When I was growing up in Tonga, mum and dad would hang a full bunch of bananas from a rope on the veranda. It was our version of a fruit bowl. As kids we knew were weren't allowed to help ourselves to the fridge but the bananas were free game. The bunch would still be green. We would be watching and waiting for them to ripen. We probably ate them green most of the time anyway. They would be hung with a pulley system and hoisted up, traditionally also to keep the pigs away.
I would like to make a bunch of bananas into a chandelier with a brass pulley system and rope. It could be lowered over a table as a glowing centerpiece when entertaining and raised back up for more subtle overhead lighting. The bananas would be cast in translucent bluey green resin. The light source would be in the centre of the bunch, eluminating the resin. It would have references to a glass sea buoy. The rope and brass pulleys would have a nautical feel to them as well.
The Project… this is a lighting concept i dreamt up in 2016 when I was planning my solo lighting exhibition for 2017. At the time I decided it was much too big of an undertaking and the idea has sat in my sketch book as a scribble and various notes on how to approach actually making it. Last year (2019) I was lucky enough to be able to pitch my idea to some clients that were looking for something out of the ordinary… I told them my nostaligic banana story and they said, “its a big yes.”
The Result… just as i pictured in my mind… my handmade green resin banana chandelier is finished and hanging in my clients home, complete with a glowing centre, golden stem, nautical rope, brass pulley system and a custom made winch. This was possibly one of the trickier makes I've approached so far… there where many cups of tea where I had to sit and think my way around things. Proof that I love my problem solving hat and a cup of green tea. My new motto is, “There are no problems, only solutions.”
Happy Clients… tick!
