Milan 2005 may well have been the year of lighting but Ingo Maurer remains the master.
The German poet of illumination exhibited a range of prototypes, off-the-shelf products and one-offs in a stunning lighting installation.
Imgae left: exhibition signage
Maurer said: "Through my many products and projects, I hope to put smiles on people's faces, to make them feel good, to let them encounter our work in a spirit of fun. Humour and joy brighten the spirit and brighten the world."
Image right: space-age inspired table-top lighting
The framework of "Blushing Zettel'z" (image left) is constructed from stainless steel. Figures in a variety of erotic poses printed on Japanese paper flutter around the light source, which is housed inside heat resistant satin frosted glass.
Maurer found the porcelain figurines on a trip to China, and "was tremendously inspired, not because they have an erotic content and delicate beauty - no, because I knew at once I would integrate their expression in a new work."
Porca China (image right) is an inventive explosion of porcelain, a heady mix of smashed china tableware and Chinese figurines, a play on words and imagery.
