Models for a series of lampshades for home assembly by women in Goa / India.
The design of lampshades was inspired by common local lampions made from paper or polypropylene foil and used during certain festivities. Consisting of prefabricated identical modules, they are meant to be put together by hand. The coloured lampshade (first) consists of the bottoms of plastic bottles, stitched together with metal pearls.
With little education or professional training, women in the rural regions of India have few opportunities to earn their own income and are often left to cleaning jobs in the tourist industry. In spite of many skills, they lack capital and the knowledge of the Western markets. At the same time, the amount of plastic garbage imposes problems in those areas frequented by tourism; its utilisation in local redesign seems to be a fitting solution.
The lamps offer a more individual alternative to copies of the
IQ-light common in Asia.
The IQ-Light was designed in 1973 by the Danish designer Holger Strøm. Various shapes can be assembled from numerous identical modules. The lamps are marketed as kits in flat carton boxes.