Guiding lights: Maarten De Ceulaer stacks stones into sculptural lamps

In the summer of 2023, Belgian designer Maarten De Ceulaer found himself on the banks of a mountain river in the Pyrenees, absent-mindedly stacking stones as he had done since childhood. The simple act of balancing carefully selected rocks into cairns is a practice with ancient roots. Often used as markers to commemorate people, places, or events, cairns have links to navigation, memory, and spirituality.

Months later, while driving, De Ceulaer revisited the memory of that afternoon and wondered if he could translate these ephemeral compositions into sculptural lighting objects. The result is the Cairn Lights, a series of stone-based luminaires that embody balance, craftsmanship, and connection to the natural world.

Their irregular forms and off-kilter angles evoke a sense of otherworldly beauty, reminiscent of nature’s more mystical creations, like toadstools emerging from the earth. When switched on, they emit a warm and enticing glow.

The process of developing Cairn Lights, De Ceulaer says, was instinctive and experimental. He began by collecting a large variety of stones, stacking them intuitively to create harmonious forms. ‘The juxtapositioning of the two stones had to work on every level,’ he tells Wallpaper*. ‘When putting them together, the resulting combination of shape, colour and texture had to be interesting, with a certain level of tension.’

To transform these compositions into functional lights, he sculpted the stones – flattening the base for stability and hollowing out the ‘lampshade’ to house a concealed light source. Early on, he realised that his workshop was ill-equipped for the dust-heavy process of stone-cutting. To refine his technique, he enrolled in a sculpture class, where he learned essential stone-carving skills and worked within a fully equipped studio. From there, it was a process of trial and error, developing adaptable metal components to support the organic stone structures and fine-tuning the principle with each new piece.

Beyond their material beauty, the pieces take on a symbolic dimension. Referring back to how, historically, cairns have served as wayfinders, memorials, and spiritual markers, De Ceulaer sees his Cairn Lights as contemporary counterparts to these ancient forms. 'I think that my Cairn Lights can serve as a powerful symbol of direction, memory and connection. They could stand as a symbolic beacon, guiding the way forward in a metaphorical sense,' he ponders. 'I see them becoming family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation, becoming a legacy that holds the memories of past generations while lighting the way for future ones.'

The Cairn Lights continue De Ceulaer’s broader design philosophy, translating universal ideas and emotions into objects, each collection forming a self-contained world that evolves over time. 'Over the years, these projects become families that keep on growing, as I like to come back to them with new variations and iterations,' he explains. 'I love to explore new materials, crafts and production techniques with every new project. By doing so, each project becomes a journey, and this discovery and learning process is what I love and keeps me going.'

A selection of nine Cairn Lights will debut at Brussels-based design fair Collectible, which returns to the Vanderborght Building from 13 to 16 March 2025 for its eighth edition.

maartendeceulaer.com
collectible.design

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