On November 29th 2019, I received a frantic Instagram notification. Famed English entrepreneur and designer India Hicks had seen my Exhibitionist sculpture installation video and…
“Wait a minute – I NEED these lights! I’m hosting a big fundraiser for the hurricane on New Year’s Eve – how can I get these?”
My wife and I had literally just survived that same Hurricane Dorian, and witnessed first hand the appalling devastation it caused, so I was keen to help however I could. But there wasn’t much time.
I’d have to come up with a brilliant idea, design it, order materials, make the kits, pack and ship them to the Bahamas, all with Christmas slap bang in the middle. Oh, and I had to fly to LA for a week! But this HAD to happen: thousands of people had lost everything in Dorian, the strongest storm to ever hit that area. If ever there was a good cause, this was it.
I got to work immediately, dreaming up a 36″ high square collapsible rice paper hanging lantern filled with LEDs that would look fabulous. Not quite the Exhibitionist, but the very best I could do. It would be easy to assemble and install on arrival. I finessed the design, ordered enough materials to make one test version and three for India, hopped on the plane to LA and crossed my fingers. Hopefully it would all be waiting for me on my return.
Needless to say, it wasn’t! Several of the key electrical components didn’t arrive. Unbeknownst to me they were coming from China. There was no way they were going to make it. I found a US supplier and had the components overnighted. I was determined I was going to make the deadline come what may. In the meantime, I modified the accordion style rice paper and bamboo lanterns, and spiraled and glued the LED strips onto the central core, so that as soon as the new parts arrived, I could connect them, run the tests and get them all shipped out ASAP.
Happily the parts arrived the following day and everything went together beautifully. The box was packed along with assembly and operating instructions, and I ran it down to UPS for shipping to Miami, where it would be met and hand carried to Harbour Island.
Despite a poor forecast, the weather was beautiful. Even the island’s rather dodgy electricity supply worked all evening. India and her team put on a predictably elegant sit-down dinner for 170 guests, lit and decorated impeccably. Cocktails were poured for an additional 250 guests. And the entertainment? None other than Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics! My Hope Lanterns were suspended around the stage casting their delicately glowing colours onto the musicians and guests as they tripped the light fantastic in the gorgeous Caribbean setting.
Photos by India Hicks.
My sincere thanks to India, David and Claire for their dedication to the cause, making the impossible happen, and of course for inspiring me to make the Hope Lanterns. Now, if you’d like one of your very own….
I am now hand-making Hope Lanterns for you! A percentage of the proceeds will benefit the ongoing Abaco relief efforts. Pre-order exclusively at: photoluminism.com/hope-lanterns/
#Bahamasstrong #Abacostrong #HopeLanterns #indiahicksstyle #photoluminism #hurricanedorian