- Design
- Mario Tsai Studio
- Photography
- MTS, Xu Xiaodong
The constant innovation of light sources has brought about a diversity of lighting, and Mario Tsai Studio has always seemingly been committed to technological and structural innovation to bring about variation in design. This is evident in Mario's impeccable body of work that includes mass-produced lamps to striking lighting installations. We showcase a handful of favourites, including the Gap Lighting series, the Mazha System 4.0, and the Electricity Lighting series. The latter has an interesting story behind it.
As a child, Mario used to see electricity poles in the fields holding up naturally curved wires, and often imagined that if the wires could glow at night and create a continuous mirror image in the rice fields, it would be an unparalleled sight. The illusion of luminescence became the starting point for the design of electric lights, and also the reason for Mario's persistent pursuit of a very fine linear light source.
Just as the first light bulb was made after the discovery of tungsten filament, the birth of electricity light is based on a new type of LED light, which is a linear light source one-third the width of a normal LED strip. The collection Electricity Lighting consists of glass panels, metal frames, and light strips, which are all exposed, resembling a miniature high-class building. Mario hopes to convey the liquidity of running electricity flow through its delicate beam, which is the origin of the name Electricity Lighting.