photo © Eirini Vourloumis
The light , the beauty and the nature by Michael Anastassiades
Michael Anastassiades , a London designer of Cypriot origin whose works are exhibited in the permanent collections of the leading museums around the world , tells us about his idea of light and the poetics behind his works
LUCE magazine met the designer Michael Anastassiades at the Flos Professional showroom in Milan for the launch of his My Circuit lamp collection . The chanting of the Gāyatrī Mantra welcomed visitors to the luminous space during the theatrical performance Six acts , staged by Teatro Parenti and directed by Fabio Cherstic , which introduced the new project , a flexible and versatile lighting system . Michael Anastassiades , who is also a yogi who practices ashtanga yoga , is a designer who creates lights of timeless beauty , such as the Coordinates lamp collection , a bespoke lighting project that he originally designed for the Four Seasons restaurant in New York in 2018 . Later on , this collection was developed and produced by Flos , who also made other of his project , such as Arrangements with which he won the Compasso d ’ Oro Award in 2020 . In My Circuit , a track circuit created in a special designed rubber material - every detail is a Flos patent - becomes an architectural lighting of the space around a single conducting electrical wire on which lamps and spotlights , like the poetic and evocative My Discs , Dome , Sphere and Line , can be hung . In this way , it becomes a decorative element of the home , just as plaster friezes and stucco ceilings were in the past . Michael Anastassiades , born in Cyprus and living in London , has made products , spatial interventions and experimental works . In 2007 he founded the company that bears his name Michael Anastassiades , to produce his exclusive pieces , a collection of lighting , furniture , jewelry and tabletop objects . His work is featured in the permanent collections of the MoMA in New York , the Victoria & Albert Museum in London , the MAK in Vienna , the Crafts Council in London , the FRAC Center in Orleans , France , and the Saint Louis Art Museum .
An introductory question : what is your idea of light ? As human beings , or even beings in general , we are drawn to light . Without any doubt , every single living being is attracted to light . By this I also mean plants , flowers and trees . They need light and they always direct themselves towards the light . It is only natural ; an ancestral instinct . We come into this world with that inner direction pointing towards light . We carry it inside us . So , even from the early stages of civilization , everybody is drawn to light , to glowing elements , whether it is the sun , whether it is the moon or whether it is fire .
Is that a thought behind your approach to My Circuit ? It is an interesting aspect because every single natural way we have of experiencing light is communicating a very specific state of mind . Our moods change during the course of the day and are affected by the different activities we do . Consequently , what we do is we will modulate the intensity of light according to our activity and mood throughout the day . If we are able to understand this experience from just simple observation - through looking at nature and all that embraces the notion of light – then we can bring these qualities into the domestic environment . That may be how we can choose “ when ” we really need artificial light , but also “ where ” and “ how much ”. My Circuit was designed with all of this in mind , and also to illuminate different functions . For me , it is necessary to capture the poetry of nature and bring it into artificial lighting .
The evocative presentation of My Circuit is like a sequence on a set or a theater scene … Yes , the performance is meant to be a demonstration of the versatility the system offers . In our lives ’ every day is different . Our setting changes , our mood changes , so we want to change our setup inside our living environments to reflect and adapt to all that . An ever-changing theatre set is able to catch this perfectly .
If I understand correctly , you prefer to design ambient lighting more than a single product , as in this latest project of yours . Is that so ? Exactly . Our life is changing all the time , and what happens within a space will change over the years . It is never the same . The idea is that - especially in open plan interiors , or when connecting different rooms - you have one single track that captures all types of lights in a kind of line-drawing . The result is meant to be decorative as well as functional , like the plaster mouldings of the past but interpreted in a contemporary way .
Why did you begin to design lighting ? I was always drawn to lighting . What attracted me to light is its uniqueness . A light is very different from any other object , whether it is a tabletop object or a piece of furniture , in that it lives between two completely different scenarios : when the light is off and when the light is on . It is just a very practical thing . What happens in the moment , when you actually turn the light on , is that magic happens . Poetry happens ! Because the volume of the space that it occupies through the light , the shadows and the reflections , everything changes . It stops being a static sculptural object . As a designer , you are consciously designing for these two different settings . Eighty percent of the lifetime of a lamp you have the light off and then twenty percent of its life the light is on . It is quite
Ritratto di Michael Anastassiades / Portrait of Michael Anastassiades
a destra / on the right My Circuit , collezione disegnata da Michael Anastassiades . Vista dell ’ installazione nello showroom di Flos / My Circuit , the collection designed by Michael Anastassiades . View of the installation in the Flos showroom
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