The ‘Nomad II’ collection is defined by playful, zoomorphic light sculptures in clay

Barcelona-based artist and architect Sofia Karnukaeva’s collection Nomad II—an evolution of an ongoing series titled Nomad—features clay sculptures with gaping crevices and crannies that conceal light sources, bringing to mind the amorphous yet lively creatures from Studio Ghibli movies. The chaotic creatures, often meant to represent natural spirits from Japanese folklore, are usually featured as the movies’ comic reliefs, while also covertly signifying themes of habitat and nature.

The delightful sculptural designs of Karnukaeva’s collection are derived from similar inspirations through happenstance. While some sculptures feature chubby legs, some adhere to deer-like forms, crafted with orifices that look like eyes. As the designer mentions in a press note, the collection's name is a reference to home and adaptation. “The body of a living organism is felt as both a vessel and a home. A habitat envelops us, we merge with it as we absorb its images and elements. It affects our imagination,” she goes on to note the idea of the home that inspired the work and the nested quality each lighting design attempts to embody.

Formally, the designer states that the light sculptures’ zoomorphic features are inspired by living organisms emerging from enclosed spaces. She goes on to emphasise that her objects are tangible forms of the products of her imagination. Elaborating on the design process of giving life to fantasy, Karnukaeva tells STIR, “When creating objects, I turn to an intuitive method of transformation of form, to the primal memory of the interaction between nature and imagination. My tactile sculptures can evoke associations with both bodily and zoomorphic forms, while simultaneously resembling nests, beehives, or caves. I pay a lot of attention to their shape and material.”

The use of clay as a primary material for the light sculptures allows the artist to transform each artefact with ease. The material also lends itself to a softness evident in the collection’s aesthetic. While Karnukaeva primarily works with hand-sculpting techniques in stoneware, the use of clay for the Nomad II collection also speaks to the designer’s concern with circular design.

One might expect the designs with their fat legs and rotund bodies to come to life any second and scamper away. Instead, the softly glowing cave-like gaps in their forms evoke feelings of warmth. While Karnukaeva's intuitive approach to the whimsical objects invites viewers to contemplate the interplay between light and form, by dissolving the distinction between function and form, the clay artworks only enhance the sense of intimate cosiness that embodies an idea of home.