UPDATE: An innovative piece of art has just secured a prestigious accolade! The Noctua lamp, created by artist Cinnamon Lee, has won the $35,000 MAKE Award for innovation, Australia’s richest prize for craft and design. This groundbreaking artwork transforms from a stunning sapphire brooch by day to an ornamental lamp by night, captivating audiences with its dual functionality.
The Noctua lamp features a unique design that projects light through a sapphire brooch made from layers of perforated metal. Lee explained that the brooch can be worn as jewellery and reattached to the lamp using magnets. “When the lamp is switched on with the brooch in place, it creates a kind of Bat Signal,” Lee stated, although she humorously noted it might not be bright enough to light up the Gotham skies.
The award, presented by the Australian Design Centre (ADC), was fiercely contested, with nearly 200 entries and 36 finalists. Lee’s art not only shines as a light source but also serves as a wearable masterpiece, showcasing more than 10 carats of brilliant-cut sapphires that create a silhouette of a Bogong moth when illuminated.
Judge Lisa Cahill, CEO of the ADC, praised the multi-dimensional nature of Noctua, calling it “really innovative and wonderful.” Lee, who has spent over 30 years in the fields of lighting and jewellery, has exhibited globally, with her works held in the National Gallery of Australia.
Notably, this award comes at a critical time for the ADC, which recently announced it missed out on crucial funding from Create NSW and Creative Australia. A two-year application for funding has since been approved, but the amount is only a fraction of the $500,000 needed to keep the center operational each year.
Lee emphasized the importance of recognition for craftspeople, stating, “There’s not a lot of recognition, especially in Australia, of the highly crafted object.” Her innovative approach to jewellery-making, particularly with the Noctua lamp, showcases a new method of securing precious stones. The sapphires are set between layers of titanium and sterling silver, which are drilled with hundreds of holes to trap the gems securely.
The Noctua lamp will be featured in an exhibition at the ADC as part of Sydney Craft Week, running until November 19, 2023. Following this, the exhibition will move to JamFactory Adelaide from December 5, 2023 to April 12, 2026.
As the craft and design community rallies around this award, Lee’s achievement serves as a beacon of innovation and creativity in a field often overshadowed by contemporary art. This recognition is not just a win for Lee but for all artisans striving to make their mark in the world of handcrafted design.
