Milan 08: at Swarovski Crystal Palace designer Paul Cocksedge presented Veil, a crystal screen which contains an image of the Mona Lisa that is only visible when you look at it in a mirror.
The screen is four metres high and consists of 1,440 Swarovski crystals.
See our previous story for more about Swarovski Crystal Palace in Milan. See more from Paul Cocksedge in Milan here.
Here’s some text from Swarovski:
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‘Veil’ by Paul Cocksedge Studio creates an incredible visual illusion; when viewed through a mirror, the shimmering curtain reveals its hidden secret: an iconic image set within the canvas of crystals, and when the viewer looks back at the curtain, the image disappears. Cocksedge sees this first edition of ‘Veil’ for
Following four photographs by Mark Cocksedge.
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Posted by Rose Etherington
May 13th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
can’t be so complicated. The mirror is placed quite high, from the mirror point of view (about 3.5 m high) one can see the pattern. a bit like the persian shutter system. what do you think?
May 13th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Well I was thinking of something similar as well. It cant be magic
but the fact that everyone is trying to give an answer to this “mystery” makes this design more and more interesting. Great work though!!!
May 13th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Woooahh! Like the Da Vince code. The Mona Lisa was a man, y’know. But I would say that this isn’t design. Its a kind of art. The same kind of art where you can get the image of a sailing ship 3d etched internally into a block of perspex, ie. tacky.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Nobody said that this is a product Fling. People nowadays can not accept this marriage between art and design but come on guys, a product does not have to be just a functional piece. It can very well be a statement piece. Art is creation so design. Two different disciplines but perceiving a product as a piece of art, makes the product more valuable and unique instead of another one sterile product that a machine created millions of times.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Its Art- not Design-Art thankfully
Best thing at Crystal Palace
May 13th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
Fling has a point - why pick an image as naff as the mona lisa? its because it is neither art nor design - it’s a facination with a technique, and the artist/designer has not managed to rise above the basic knowledge to really originate. Its a showcase for a process.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I Don’t know, John Maeda did something similar with Pantone pens and the Mona Lisa. If you didn’t recognise it instantly then the ‘trick’ would be lost in the time taken to figure out what the image was. Really clever installation. It’s creative. Not art or design but simply creative.
The crystal palace is a branding exercise (same as Bisazza), showcasing creativity and crystal within the confines of a design fair.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Thats a piece of design and definately not a piece of art Will. Artist do not take client projects. Designers do. When we speak about design we do not necessarily refer to product design.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:52 am
this is great, its not clear how it works and I like that. Interesting. Actually to me this debate about the chosen iconic image is pointless, if no-one had told me that was the Mona Lisa, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed, ha-ha. Its a cool trick that could develop into something much more interesting should Mr P Cocksedge want to take it further. I’d like to see it developed further.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:50 am
Paolo, thanks for disagreeing with me- lets agree to disagree-
I would opinion that this is in the same vein as Artist Mark Wallinger’s
‘ Time and Relative Dimensions in Space’.
‘Artist do not take client projects’ er.. since when Paolo?
Artists call them ‘Patrons’.
Examples - Chapman bros (product graphic), Beleschenko(Architectural installations), even Tracey Emin(Fashion design)
May 21st, 2008 at 2:49 am
When was design estranged from art or technology? Isn’t it one in the same? I believe this object proves it …Fling.