A chandelier for the street, made from PET bottles. If this was an exhibit at the Salone del Mobile in Milan I wouldn’t give it a second look, but far removed from the temptations of designer dreams in Pondicherry, it holds a very different meaning and purpose. Hanging between two houses in the middle of a narrow residential street and consisting of some wired together PET bottles with Christmas tree lights wrapped around them, with a pulley system for lowering the assembly for festivals or repairs, it was not so much the magnificent contrast of grandeur and lack of means that kept it hanging there, but the powerful effect it must have on the night-time atmosphere of the street in festival. Even without it’s electric booster it was doing a fine job for the day-time atmosphere. No doubt it must have raised some eyebrows amongst the neighbours the day it went up, but having proved itself an asset to the community it had clearly been accepted. Ultimate proof of design quality.
British designer Jasper Morrison (*1959) is regarded as a pioneer of "New Simplicity", advocating a more humble and serious approach to design. The fundamental principles presented in his 2006 exhibition “Super Normal”, created in collaboration with Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, attracted a great deal of attention.
