Leading lights

The Anglepoise lamp, like Hoover, has entered the common lexicon as a descriptor. It’s a word that immediately evokes a mental image – with its angular frame and cranium-like shade it conjures up visions of a creaky bird, overlooking you as you work. An iconic design that has served as inspiration for countless designers, it is now revisited by Royal College of Art product design students. Chosen by Ron Arad as a subject for the project ‘because it isn’t a chair’, the articulated lamp has been reinterpreted by 70 students for the 21st century. Nine of the designs have been chosen by Artemide for further development. All the work is on show at New Moves, an exhibition opening at the Aram Gallery today, curated by Daniel Charny. The exhibition design, by Oscar Narud, evokes an office space. White boxes with line-drawn computers, desks and even a water cooler play host to an invasion of lights. In this surreal environment, the combination of old and new and the contrast between experimental and commercial work highlights not only the strength of the original concept, but illustrates the creative process itself, making for an exhibition that is both inspiring and illuminating.

New Moves runs from 20 September to 3 November at The Aram Gallery, 110 Drury Lane, London WC2