CONE OF FLAMES
What price is progress?
Cone Of Flames, 2009-2010
Onyx and marble
Unique work
H200 x Dia44cm
© Mark Humphrey
COLLABORATORS
Jumeirah
Osborne Samuel gallery
Pietrasanta Cultural Institute
LOCATION
Park Lane, Mayfair, London, UK
“CONE OF FLAMES IS A FLOOR LAMP HAND-CARVED FROM ONYX AND MARBLE, ITS ILLUMINATED MONOLITHIC FORM RECALLING AN ANCIENT TORCH. THE WORK TRANSFORMS A FAMILIAR OBJECT INTO A SYMBOL OF HUMANITY’S PURSUIT OF PROGRESS, ENERGY AND INNOVATION.
THE LAMP REFLECTS THE FURNACES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE BURNING OF COAL THAT POWERED A NEW AGE OF PRODUCTION. FROM WOOD AND COAL TO OIL, ELECTRICITY AND THE TECHNOLOGIES OF THE DIGITAL AGE, EACH STAGE OF PROGRESS HAS DEPENDED UPON NEW FORMS OF ENERGY. THE WORK BECOMES A PHYSICAL TIMELINE OF THIS TRANSFORMATION – LIGHT IS INTEGRAL TO EVERY STAGE OF PROGRESS.
YET THE SAME FORCES THAT HAVE ENABLED HUMAN ADVANCEMENT HAVE ALSO PLACED INCREASING PRESSURE ON THE NATURAL WORLD. THE FLOOR LAMP BRINGS TOGETHER LIGHT AND HEAT, CREATION AND DESTRUCTION, PROGRESS AND CONSEQUENCE. WHAT ILLUMINATES OUR PATH FORWARD CAN ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONDITIONS WE MUST NOW CONFRONT.”
Mark Humphrey
