I saw a post on Facebook where Vivacity Arts was asking people to submit ideas for an installation called ‘Boxed in’.
The installation was an exciting new opportunity for artists and designers to create installations in the window of Unit 59 in the Queensgate Centre in Peterborough, with the window looking out over Cathedral Square so it is a prime position.
The proposal is to have installations that are enclosed behind the glass, a space that no one can enter but everyone can see.
I decided to scamp out ideas with one idea really coming to the fore. The piece is entitled ‘Time for Change’ was made up of 3 illuminated dandelions highlighting the beauty of nature and the planet and bringing summer to the heart of the city.
I had the IKEA MASKROS pendant lamp in my mind when coming up with the idea as I always thought they looked so incredible. But they are pendant lamps, I needed floor lamps. So I checked IKEAhackers.net and found a MASKROS floor lamp project by Igor.
This gave me the confidence that I could create the giant dandelions. So we pitched the idea to Vivacity Arts and they loved it, commissioning it for a 2-week slot in June 2018.
IKEA elements:
- 2 x large MASKROS lamps
- 2 x small MASKROS lamps (1 for parts)
Other Materials:
- 3 x Lampholder Kit 10 for Wooden Lamp Bases
- 3 x Wooden mouldings at various lengths 1000mm, 750mm, 650mm
- 500 x 500mm plywood bases x 3
- 2 x packs of 3 polystyrene eggs
- Polystyrene glue
- 3 x Energy efficient bulbs 40W
- 950 x 270mm piece of astroturf
- Fishing wire
- 5 x Hooks
- Pot of green paint
- 6 screws
Tools:
- Hacksaw
- Hammer
- Drill
- Saw
Giant MASKROS floor lamp hack instructions:
First, I needed to create broken free seeds to hang in the space, so I used a hacksaw to cut 5 of the rods radiating from the centre of the lamp.
I then put a bit of the polystyrene glue onto the tip of each and inserted each rod into each egg, ready to be attached to the dandelion head.
Creating the wooden bases
Then just as Igor did I removed the plastic halo from the lamp pendant using a hack saw.
I then painted the wooden mouldings green. When dry, I drilled into the top and then into the side to allow the light cable to go into the moulding and poke out of the top.
Then I slipped the fastening ring onto the wire, screw section facing up. Next, I slipped on the bottom of the plastic light fitting. Then I slipped on the cut off plastic halo. Finally, taking the main body of the light unit and wired up the light to the cable.
Then I simply screwed all elements together with the halo metal fixings slipping between the 2 light fitting sections and getting tightened and secured in between the two tightly. Then in situ we attached the wooden moulding pole to the base.
We were hiding the bases so they didn’t need to be pretty. We then placed them in the window and then laid a piece of astro turf over to cover them up.
Installing the MASKROS floor lamp
Next we put the bulbs into the light fittings and built the dandelion head around it as per the IKEA instructions. We found adding the paper heads to the rod strips then adding each rod to the plastic centre helped a lot in a confined space.
Finally we screwed fixings into the roof and hung the free seed heads from them using fishing wire.
The thing we enjoyed the most was peoples faces stumbling on the incredible window.
At night it glows in the Cathedral Square casting lovely shadows. It’s really quite dramatic.
We then lit the lamps and stepped back to admire the window. I hope this inspires you to create your own installations. We had a lot of fun.
In total the whole display cost just under £500. You can find out more about the project at www.avidd.design
~ by Avidd Design
Jules is the author of IKEAHackers.net: 25 Biggest and Best Projects".
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