Christopher Berndt, Light as a feather (ART & OBJECTS 2025)

Photos:

C. Berndt

Country

Australia

This project was inspired by a collection of objects found in nature during travels throughout Australia. A feather within the collection was typical of these objects, organic in shape with numerous imperfections and an interesting back story. The collection needed a home, a shadow box. The feather became the inspiration for the build. The barbs of the feather would become the shadow box shelves and the Rachis would become a light so the collection could be illuminated. My current focus is on sustainability. Using materials which have been used before is a way of extending their life and minimising their carbon footprint. The Rachis of the feather is made from a preloved piece of communications conduit, a material I have discovered, makes an excellent light diffuser whilst retaining a good level of rigidity. The timber is from a used pallet and has been stack laminated to form the curved shelves. The USB cable was repurposed, joined to a COB LED strip and fed through the conduit on a clear plastic strip to keep the light centred. Pallet offcuts were burnt leaving nails which had been heat softened and able to be bent into staple shapes capable of interlocking each shelf together.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.