SOLID by James Tapscott is a high performance linear pendant designed along elegant, simple lines. It’s a sleek architectural piece that embodies an old approach to craftsmanship and is entirely hand-made. The designer’s aim was to tease out the beauty of the natural wood material and of light itself.
SOLID made from a single solid piece of specially sourced timber, which is inserted with a linear LED light source.
The fixture is designed by Australia’s leading Land and Light Artist and founder of the Globelight Festival, James Tapscott and this is his first foray into design rather than contemporary art.
Tapscott spent a year putting his SOLID pendant through the prototype phase and the final result is now manufactured by Artefact Industries. Maintaining the unbroken appearance of a single piece of timber while allowing full access to the slimline lighting components inside demanded a high level of engineering and patience.
Now part of Artefact’s Core Range, SOLID had a soft launch in 2017 and has been specified by many leading Australian architects such as SJB (19,800 IG followers), Bates Smart (28,700 IG followers) and Foolscap Studio (9,868 IG followers).
James Tapscott’s pendant design shares many of the same philosophical dimensions as his artworks, of which Arc Zero Nimbus at the Japan Alps Festival in 2017 is to date his best known.
“As an artist I try to make a point of not overly imposing my will on a site or the materials I use, allowing them to express themselves. I really believe a minimalist aesthetic is the best way to work with nature,” said Tapscott.
The internal components of SOLID are locally produced and the LED strip – a high-end, high quality product - is manufactured locally by Coolon in Melbourne.
Recent orders for SOLID linear pendants have tended to specify the use of American Oak in natural oiled or Black Japan finish, but custom sizes and finishes are available and a wide variety of unusual Australian hardwoods are available too.
The pendants take 4-6 weeks to produce and come in two sizes (1200mm or 2400 in length, both W40mm x H110mm). Dimmable versions are available on request and the fixtures weigh approximately 5kg and 10kg respectively, depending on timber variations. They come with stainless steel cable and black flex suspension.
The Solid Pendant is fully compliant with Australian, EU and Asian regulations and can be shipped anywhere worldwide except the USA. Compliance with US regulations is anticipated for 2019.
