Stargazing, 2025

My sacred desert is inspired by the Thar Desert in Rajasthan. Deeply influenced by The Poetics of Space, written by Gaston Bachelard in 1957, Stargazing is a collection of four sculptural lamps.

The desert becomes a metaphor for our intimate selves, a space that disrupts habitual perceptions of time and scale. It dissolves the boundaries of the body, immersing us in horizontality while compelling us to seek verticality within.

Exploring the poetic potential of the desert, I engage with its archetypal elements—immensity, silence, blinding light, dunes, circles, spirals—through a practice of topoanalysis: a deep examination of place and memory.

Stargazing is a mise en abyme—a reflective microcosm within a broader cosmogonic vision.

The ensemble consists of two wall lamps, Mensa and Vela,
and two floor lamps, Hydrus I, Hydrus II. Crafted from stainless steel and handmade tea-dyed paper, they cast a soft, meditative glow across the space.

Each lamp was conceived during my residency at Nila House under the Villa Swagatam program and produced with the support of Nila House and the French Institute in India. We collaborated closely with artisans from Nila House’s network in Jaipur.