Kuniko Maeda – The Dragon Head Wall Light

‘The Dragon Head Wall Light’ is designed in collaboration with the London-based Japanese artist Kuniko Maeda. Reminiscent of Karl Blossfeldt’s precise botanical photographs, the unfurling petals take their sculptural form from painstakingly folded paper hand-made by The Paper Foundation – a sixth-generation papermaker in the English Lake District. The delicate white paper shade incorporates the traditional Japanese technique of kakishibu, painted with the dye from unripe persimmons. This mellow, amber-coloured pigment is carefully applied by hand to add rigidity to the paper’s natural fibres (and has added benefits of water resistancy and repelling insects) and will age and fade beautifully over time. The paper petals sit on top of an intricately woven natural rattan basket, which softly diffuses light and casts gentle shadows.

‘The Dragon Head Wall Light’ is limited to an edition of 30.

Please note that this shade is made and finished by hand and therefore will have natural variations in both colour and form. Great care is taken to achieve consistency and while no two pieces will ever look identical, each will have their own beautiful individuality.