K 831 PLY

The image film about the K 831 PLY lamp was created on the occasion of the reproduction of a lamp originally developed in 1931 by Kandem, one of the largest German lamp manufacturers at that time. The lamp was produced under the self-imposed premise of only working with materials and techniques that were available before 1940. Thus, the dome is made of Bakelite, while the lampshade is made of aluminium that is formed by hand and enamelled afterwards. Since it is almost impossible to describe the beauty of this product in words, the manufacturing process is shown in moving images as a short film – without commentary and only complemented by an audio track, the film illustrates the individual manufacturing steps. Starting with a chalk drawing on a blackboard, showing the hand-operated machinery in the workshop and backing up the production of each individual element with an authentic soundscape, the film renders a vivid experience of both the nearly antiquated production methods and the resulting quality of each individual lamp.