Some 120 sapphire-blue, flat-sided bottles are burning bright, studded around the perimeter of two conjoined metal rings hanging from the ceiling. Only the picture of queen Victoria is missing in the centre. This light installation is meant to replicate the logo of one of our best loved gins—Bombay Sapphire. Yes, the translucent shiny blue glass lamps jutting out like spikes around the rings are discarded Bombay Sapphire bottles themselves. This 10-feet light exhibit is housed in Delhi's Klove Studio, a contemporary lighting design company crafting whimsical, dramatic and often outlandish light installations and schemes since 2005.
While "The Sapphire Supernova" is their latest effort as part of a brand campaign called "Stir Creativity" between Klove and Bombay Sapphire, there are plenty of odd shapes and sights blazing in Klove's cavernous studio-cum-gallery at any given time. Most seem to be conceived soon after a fevered dream with ambiguous contours. Somewhere, a bunch of golden globes descend on the floor like flaming gooseberries; in another corner, ruddy glass droplets quiver in the air from a jangle of chains in a Gothic chandelier. For now, there are giant totems and necklaces dropping from the ceilings and walls. The totems speak of deities of time, cosmic energies and an all-seeing eye in mint-green and opal white, soothing onyx and shimmery brass.
Co-founded by Prateek Jain and Gautam Seth, Klove studio has striven to elevate the art of glass-blowing with larger-than-life 3D installations and chandeliers. The duo brings in elements of drama and thoughtful contemplation to their interior lighting décor, propelling design possibilities to newer heights. They launch new collections every year, with names like Shamanic Soul and Gypsy Caravan, from neo-classic to contemporary in upscale drawing-rooms and hotels and restaurants. Their fantastical creations adorn niches in the Mumbai airport and The Claridges, Eros hotels and SBI, Inox and BMW.
While Klove is a now a well-known name in the space of luxury lighting, other similarly experimental light designers include Paul Matter Studio,Studio Avni, Aamir and Hameeda from Hyderabad, Oorja sustainable lighting, Arjun Rathi Studio and Sahil Design Co.