Larger than us, the seven floor lamps fill and protect the gallery space, acting as flamboyant samurais. In Japanese, “mitate” signifies a multi-layered, comparative approach to otherwise familiar objects—allowing observers to contemplate an item with fresh eyes in order to renew one’s experience of it. With the collection Mitate, a game is played between the simplicity of the lamps and the sophistication of their Japanese forms, inspired by trips to Japan.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4102a7cf167e2663c611684144dd1531c8285e66f4613ff0ea9ab874770e20de/001A-Chuugi-Black-Hole-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/19ebc2c6dc9369425986388d9dedd6daea5f9744dd5e77a552e20a72b7acb43e/003A-Gi-Cord-Lamp-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/876fe04ce026abda24d57f1670940136b72adb6f381bb9276cd847343fa73af1/004A-Rei-Shields-Lamp-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0bac328a6a04d1ea4bb5d33608a4f501d5ba6ca16e04aaf4cbc3b3e8519c89e3/004B-Rei-Shields-detail-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
From these travels and through research of local craft knowledge, Studio Wieki Somers collected sensations, materials and images. For instance: the enigmatic XVIth Century Samurai flags whose designs identified clans and demonstrated their unique powers, the production and use of which was a highly ritualized affair. The studio finally created a contemporary equivalent of these historical flags translated into ‘light poles’ – a family of lamps, that symbolises the period in which we live.
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/da6060bc5089cd1b2660153e75b42d0aaf186017d73955b2f1e17b1a13391c1b/007A-Meiyo-Mesh-Lamp-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/7c5e5c48f8fc330efa48b4fbe40bf32a96ee8cb878e03f721609cf511dd5a779/002A-Yuu-Mirror-Lamp-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/0dda51e3cdc15f38f2aef6a29590a6cfd5fd501e497a12dfcbf9223be183c5e2/002B-Yuu-Mirror-detail-2-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)
![](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e65544e4c3be00fa139dcf0c3eba1ccc953e0473fd76c663144d44c7a2c65a54/002C-Yuu-Mirror-detail-1-F-GOUSSET-LR_web.jpg)