Tomobishi Lamp

Tomoshibi is a Kumiko lamp designed to gently alter your mood by creating a soothing atmosphere in your home. Tomoshibi means guiding light, and my hope with this piece is to guide people toward a tranquil and zen-like state of being.

The lamp has been constructed with 150 individual pieces, featuring Australian hardwoods with contrasting colours that foster contemplation and appreciation of our unique flora.

Each side panel utilised a Japanese wood joinery art form called Kumiko. The pattern displayed is called an asanoha pattern (hemp leaf) and features hand-carved pieces that fit together without glue joins. This art form develops a deep understanding of the materials used. It requires the presence of mind to chisel-cut with wood density and structure at the forefront of your consciousness. Otherwise, a lack of friction fit and chip-out problems become unavoidable. Warm light filters through rice paper, and this pattern softly projects the meaning of kumiko into the space it resides in. Other wood joinery techniques used in this work include half-lap, cross-lap and Dado cuts.

Through merging Australian hardwoods and the intentional art form of kumiko together, this sculptural object brings a quiet respect for native materials into the home.