news
  • ongoing
    exhibition

    we had the pleasure to co-curate the new MAK Design Lab at the Museum of applied Arts in Vienna. Within the permanent exhibition one can find as well a few of our projects like 'the idea of a tree', 'limited moths' or 'LeveL

    MAK Design Lab

  • dec. 2022
    acquisition

    we are happy that our project 'Access' was acquired by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.
    thanks a lot.
    The project 'Access' is a set of six drinking glasses, confronting people with the global distribution of clean drinking water.

    High Museum of Art Atlanta

entomarium extinct

a collection of lamps that seemingly brings

extinct insects back to life

  • year 2020

  • categories Limited Editions
    Products & Furniture

detail of an entomarium extinct wall lamp with five extinct insects in bulbs, image credit: Leonard Hilzensauer

entomarium extinct appreciates moments in nature and questions the interaction between man and nature. Developed for Victor Hunt Gallery, the project is a further development of the interactive installation curiosity cloud.
Simple, contemporary glass bells form the main component of these illuminated objects. These mouths-blown glass vessels are safe settings for artificial hand-fabricated insects portraying various extinct species from all over the world. Seen from a distance, the insects appear quiet and calm. However, as soon as one approach the object, the glass bells light up and the insects start swirling around, flying inside the glass vessels. They gently touch the glass, which in turn creates a soundscape. The project allows the extinct insects to seemingly come back to life in order to be seen and thus draw attention to the loss of biodiversity.
entomarium extinct is available in various sizes. Individual glass bulbs form a table lamp or a single wall lamp, multiple glass vessels together work as chandeliers or wall chandeliers. To work smoothly in private settings, the lamps can be switched from interactive mode, where the insects flutter to a quiet lamp mode, in which the intensity of the light can be controlled.

main image above: Leonard Hilzensauer

interacting with the entomarium extinct wall lamp
image credit: Leonard Hilzensauer

extinct insects come seemingly back to life and thus draw attention to the loss of biodiversity

detail view on xerces blue hanging in the glass bulb of the table lamp
image credit: Leonard Hilzensauer

chandelier at exhibition, Image credit: Jeroen Verrecht

exhibition view at victor hunt gallery, Image credit: Jeroen Verrecht

some of the extinct species we chose for entomarium extinct, all insects are artificially made referring to real species that once lived in the wild

drawing of the table lamp

  • material

    mouth-blown glass bulbs by Lobmeyr, metal, cables, steelwire, brass hoods, motors, LEDs, custom made circuit boards, sensors / artificial handcrafted insects made out of: printed and lasercut foil adapted with felt

  • dimensions

    table lamp: 22 x 45 x 61 cm

    wall lamp: 68 x 28 cm, adjustable in height

  • electrotechnical development

    Simon Laburda (DKIA)

  • team

    Katharina Mischer, Thomas Traxler, Elisa Polner, Monja Hirscher, Johannes Nortmann

  • special thanks to

    J. & L. Lobmeyr for producing the glass bulbs