Capitals
2024

The Capitals lighting series has been created in collaboration with patterned surface manufacturers Mirrl. The Capitals series consists of a range of three modular pendants in various sizes.

Initial inspiration for the project came from the ornamentation of an understated Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson tenement in Glasgow’s Southside, which first informed our series of Glasgow Heritage risograph prints. Later, on learning of Mirrl’s roots in a traditional Japanese lacquering craft, we were reminded of an earlier Glaswegian designer strongly influenced by Japanese art and craft - Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Archival images of the Glasgow School of Art’s interiors, as well as drawing on pre-fire memories of the ‘Mack’ building, formed as a key source of inspiration. Influenced by Mackintosh’s interpretation of Japanese structure, the earlier Thomson inspired risographs were exploded into 3D forms, recalling the library and other interiors of the Mack. The series has been given the name Capitals in reference to the column capitals of classical architecture which influenced Alexander Thomson’s work.

The Capitals series has been designed using a simple, demountable construction logic consisting of frames created in Mirrl’s patterned surface on a wooden base material, which hold Mirrl-cast diffusers. 

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Photography - Neale Smith Photography