THE IRIS PROJECT AS TOLD BY NATACHA BIRDS

Reading time: 3 min

A FIRST ARTIST’S UNIVERSE TRANSLATED INTO LIGHT

The IRIS lamp is the story of a painter who lent her world to a designer in order to see it appear in a new form, reach a new audience, and live a unique artistic experience.

In this interview, Natacha Birds looks back on the reasons that led her to collaborate with Irrational Flames, what this experience brought to her artistic practice, and the emotion she felt the day she saw her universe embodied in a light fixture with an iconic design .

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO COLLABORATE WITH IRRATIONAL FLAMES?

" For a long time, I'd wanted to embark on a design project, and more specifically, to create a lamp. For me, light has this unique power to enhance a work of art and give it a new dimension. It's also a theme that often recurs in my paintings. When I discovered Irrational Flames' work on Instagram, I was immediately struck by its inherent poetry, by its ability to transform lighting into a true work of art. It felt like a natural fit; I wanted to combine my artistic world with Romain's [designer and founder of Irrational Flames] expertise. It was a perfect opportunity to develop my artistic practice. »

HOW HAS THIS COLLABORATION ENRICHED YOUR ARTISTIC PRACTICE ?

" Moving from two-dimensional painting to a three-dimensional object was an incredibly enriching experience. It was like seeing my works come to life, almost as if a fragment of my paintings became real. The light, the colors, the volumes, the perspectives… all of this made me rethink my approach to painting and gave me new inspiration for the future color palettes of my paintings. I felt like I was giving my motifs a physical form, offering them a more tangible existence, beyond the canvas. »

IS THERE A MOMENT, AN EXCHANGE OR AN ASPECT OF THE PROJECT THAT PARTICULARLY STRIKED YOU ?

" Without a doubt, the most memorable moment was discovering the finished product. After going through the idea stage, then the sketch, and seeing the 3D model take shape, finally holding the physical object in my hands felt almost surreal. But it was when I switched on the lamp for the first time that the emotion truly hit home. Watching the colors unfold in the light, changing their appearance depending on its intensity or the angle of view… it was magical. That moment gave the collaboration its full meaning. »

- Natacha Birds, for Irrational Flames

Discover the IRIS collection  → ALL LAMPS

Visit Natacha Birds ' website → DISCOVER THE ARTIST'S WORLD