For the exhibition “From Dust to Glitter, or How a Crystal Chandelier Grows” for the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Prague-based designers Zdeněk Vacek and Daniel Pošta, who work under the name of Zorya, grew the components of a crystal chandelier.
Zorya experimented for several years with the crystallisation process of minerals and how to produce jewellery this way. In 2011, they showed the concept of their collection based on the process of controlled crystallisation. The chandelier is a continuation of this project.
The chandelier is made using the chemical and biological crystallisation process of salts. The uniqueness of the process lies in the preservation of the crystals, so that they can be used in jewellery, and chandeliers, of course.
To make the chandelier, the eighteen stainless steel arms of the chandelier were submerged into a solution of potassium aluminium sulphate solution. With time and temperature changes, the solution gradually left deposit in the shape of alum crystals.
The exhibition “From Dust to Glitter, or How a Crystal Chandelier Grows” is on display from 25 August to 4 November. In the first three weeks of the exhibition, visitors could see how the crystal components of the chandelier grew. On 15 September, the chandelier was installed and used as part of a ceremonial inaugural lighting in the Bergpalais. After the exhibition, the chandelier will become part of the museum’s permanent collection.
Photos: Karin Zadrick