'umbra' is a collaboration of two halves, Sydney based Silk screen artist Kate Banazi and myself as a student of Industrial design. We wanted explore the manipulation of light on opaque and semi reflective and translucent shapes and materials and challenging Kate to work within a fixed area of containment (the aluminium shade) was a juxtaposition on chaos and constraint. We wanted to manufacture locally and explore local talents, this was a large part of the process and we allowed for this process to at times shape and dictate the direction of the final design.

'umbra' was the result of detailed conversations between Kate Banazi, Sydney based silk screen artist whom frequently uses Acrylic and Sydney based Industrial design student Ryan McGoldrick.

Kate and Ryan met in 2016 and began discussion on re-use and turning defected artworks from Banazi's work into vacuum formed pendant lights. Exploring this process further a different route was taken and materials were salvaged from manufacturers waste stations to create this illuminated light sculpture.

The pair worked exclusively with manufacturers in Canberra, Australia where Ryan was undertaking a product development internship with SKEEHAN studio, the publisher of Sketching process a new design sketching process book which was recently supported by CORE77. Kate's acrylic artworks were manufactured by a local supplier in Sydney using only waste plastics. Whilst Ryan built new working relationships within the Canberra design and manufacturing industry, and was fortunate enough to be able carry out work at the workshop of the University of Canberra to bring the project to completion. Ryan is now undertaking an exchange semester from the University of New South Wales over in Germany at the prestigious Bauhaus university in Weimar.