Monolite is a lamp that combines light, sounds, distractions and evocations. Say what? It’s an architectonic interactive organ that creates a spatial and emotive “elsewhere”. Porqué??? At random times during the day, it reduces ambient light and an electroluminescent fractal pattern is displayed through cubes on the upper half of the device. The cubes are placed at various depths to form an abstract image. It’s only possible to see the pattern standing directly in front of it. This provides “distraction”, breaking the rhythm of time and creating a moment in time and place. The fascination goes on if you decide to get closer to the lamp, because you’ll hear “one minute of somewhere else”, ambient recordings of an unknown but real place evocative images, landscapes, voices, and feelings.
This concept is extremely esoteric. I feel as if I just noshed on a bunch of wild mushrooms from reading it. It was said a monolith helped our ancestors make the jump from intrinsic thought to abstract, comparative logic – the stepping stone to modern thinking. Perhaps the Monolite is meant to inspire us in the same way, to make that next leap.
Designer: Stefano Pertegato, Giovanni Mendini, Francesco Schiraldi & Eloisa Tolu
