A self-assembly light, portable water bottle that users can unite or separate, and a solar lamp.
These are items on display at the 2015 Gwangju Design Biennale that opened Oct. 15 in the southern provincial city of Gwangju for a month-long run.
An exhibition, "Gwangju Branding," which is part of the biennale, features about 10 lighting and other household items produced by Gwangju-based minor firms through collaboration with world renowned designers. They include Odile Deq, Alessandro Mendini, Stefano Giovannoni, Denis Santachiara and Marco Ferreri.
Italian designer Alberto Meda designed "The Meccano light," a structure made from aluminum that can be assembled into user-specified shapes, for Namyang Lighting Co., while Giovannoni developed a kitchenware set with Insnine Ceramics.
The set catches the eyes of visitors for its witty design in which mini-men climb onto teacups and water bottles and candelabrums with some fishing on top of them.
Korean designer Song Bongkyu collaborated with Damda Co., to produce "modular trays" that enables users to arrange various small items on colorful big and small trays with six different shapes such as a triangle, a square and a diamond.
Chung Soo, also a Korean designer, worked with Elpi Studio to develop a portable water bottle that can be united or separated.
Korean designer Han Kyungha developed a cookware set together with Gwangju Mold Co. while Santachiara presented a solar lamp with Sejeon Lighting.
Odile Deq developed a LED light with Innocem Korea Co. while an LED light developed by Mendini is soon to find its producer through an open contest.
"Since having felt nothing is left when the design biennale is over, we decided to leave something this time in the form of products to industrialize design," said Woo Beom-ki, Gwangju deputy mayor in charge of economic affairs who orchestrated the design biennale. "We'll help regional firms churn out those designer items early next year." (Yonhap)
