ENG I TH
Mulberry tree bark
The branches of the mulberry shrubs are harvested in the autumn, and the innermost layer of bark (white bark) is stripped from the timber and boiled in a mixture of water and soda ash. The strips are then beaten by hand until they have been well separated.
The diffuser is formed by hand sewing each of the prepared clusters of fiber to a cotton grid, which has been fastened to the base structure.
The colour of the material is a soft white that yellows a little with age. To clean diffusers in this material, we recommend that they be dusted or lightly vacuumed.
Mulberry tree bark
The branches of the mulberry shrubs are harvested in the autumn, and the innermost layer of bark (white bark) is stripped from the timber and boiled in a mixture of water and soda ash. The strips are then beaten by hand until they have been well separated.
The diffuser is formed by hand sewing each of the prepared clusters of fiber to a cotton grid, which has been fastened to the base structure.
The colour of the material is a soft white that yellows a little with age. To clean diffusers in this material, we recommend that they be dusted or lightly vacuumed.
Mulberry tree bark
The branches of the mulberry shrubs are harvested in the autumn, and the innermost layer of bark (white bark) is stripped from the timber and boiled in a mixture of water and soda ash. The strips are then beaten by hand until they have been well separated.
The diffuser is formed by hand sewing each of the prepared clusters of fiber to a cotton grid, which has been fastened to the base structure.
The colour of the material is a soft white that yellows a little with age. To clean diffusers in this material, we recommend that they be dusted or lightly vacuumed.
Mulberry tree bark
The branches of the mulberry shrubs are harvested in the autumn, and the innermost layer of bark (white bark) is stripped from the timber and boiled in a mixture of water and soda ash. The strips are then beaten by hand until they have been well separated.
The diffuser is formed by hand sewing each of the prepared clusters of fiber to a cotton grid, which has been fastened to the base structure.
The colour of the material is a soft white that yellows a little with age. To clean diffusers in this material, we recommend that they be dusted or lightly vacuumed.
Mulberry tree bark
The branches of the mulberry shrubs are harvested in the autumn, and the innermost layer of bark (white bark) is stripped from the timber and boiled in a mixture of water and soda ash. The strips are then beaten by hand until they have been well separated.
The diffuser is formed by hand sewing each of the prepared clusters of fiber to a cotton grid, which has been fastened to the base structure.
The colour of the material is a soft white that yellows a little with age. To clean diffusers in this material, we recommend that they be dusted or lightly vacuumed.
Art Exhibition
Transceiver Space:
Silk Cocoon Light Art
at Gwangju Design Biennale 2017
In 2017, Ango presented Transceiver Space, an immersive silk cocoon light installation created for the Gwangju Design Biennale in Gwangju, South Korea.
Designed by Ango founder and chief designer Angus Hutcheson, the installation brought together five illuminated structures in a circular arrangement. Visitors could enter the space, sit beneath the sculptural forms and experience natural silk cocoon, filtered light and sound as parts of a single environment.
Rather than presenting lighting as a series of individual objects, Transceiver Space explored how handcrafted light could shape an architectural space and create a moment of stillness within a major design exhibition.
The Curatorial Vision Behind Transceiver Space
The project began with an invitation from Byoong Soo Eun, Chief Curator of the Gwangju Design Biennale 2017, who had followed Ango’s work with natural materials for more than a decade.Ango was invited to develop a new installation around the distinctive material and emotional qualities of silk cocoon. In response, the studio conceived five domed light environments, each functioning as a small shelter within the exhibition.
The concept drew upon the original purpose of a cocoon: a delicate enclosure that provides protection during transformation. Enlarged to an architectural scale, this idea became a series of luminous canopies beneath which visitors could sit, look upward and listen.
From Silk Cocoon
to Architectural Light Sculpture
Silk cocoon has long been central to Ango’s material language. Each cocoon appears light and fragile, yet its tightly spun filament forms a remarkably resilient natural structure.
For Transceiver Space, thousands of cocoons were assembled into expansive translucent surfaces. When illuminated, the material gently diffused the light while preserving its natural variations in colour, density and form. These irregularities gave each canopy a soft, organic texture.
The installation translated the qualities of the cocoon—enclosure, repetition, protection and trans-formation—into an inhabitable architectural light sculpture.
This relationship between material, light and space is fundamental to Ango’s work. Light is treated not only as illumination, but as a medium that can shape atmosphere, define scale and influence how people experience an interior.
Handcrafting Five Silk Cocoon Structures
Each of the five domed structures began with a steel spaceframe. Ango’s artisans then formed a fine cross-grid of wire filaments over the frame, creating the supporting surface for the natural silk cocoons.
More than 12,000 connection points were hand-welded or hand-soldered across each structure. Approximately 14,500 silk cocoons were used throughout the installation, which required more than 1,500 hours of fabrication.
Created by Ango’s artisan team in Bangkok, Thailand, the work developed through the repetition of highly detailed manual processes: joining the wire grid, forming the supporting structure and applying each cocoon by hand.
The five completed forms were installed as individual components of one spatial composition. Their circular arrangement encouraged visitors to move between the canopies and experience the changing relationship between structure, light and material.
An Immersive Composition
of Light & Sound
Sound was integral to Transceiver Space. Ambient compositions accompanied the illuminated structures, with rhythms referencing the repeated figure-eight movement through which a silkworm spins its cocoon.
Light revealed the layered surfaces overhead, while sound introduced a sense of movement within the otherwise still environment. Visitors were not limited to viewing the installation from outside; they could sit beneath the silk cocoon canopies and experience the work from within.
"Transceiver Space marked an important stage in Ango’s exploration of sculptural handcrafted lighting at an architectural scale."
The installation demonstrated how a small natural material could become part of a substantial spatial structure without losing its delicacy or individual character.
For Angus Hutcheson and the Ango artisan team, the project was not simply an enlarged lighting object. It was a purpose-designed environment in which structure, illumination, sound and human presence were conceived together.
Watch the Transceiver Space making-of film
The making-of film follows the fabrication of the five structures in Bangkok, from the steel space frames and hand-formed wire grids to the application of the natural silk cocoons.
Project Information
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Project: Transceiver Space
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Exhibition: Gwangju Design Biennale 2017
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Location: Gwangju, South Korea
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Year: 2017
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Chief Curator: Byoong Soo Eun
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Lighting design studio: Ango
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Designer: Angus Hutcheson
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Fabrication: Ango artisan team, Bangkok, Thailand
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Material: Natural silk cocoon
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Structure: Steel spaceframes with hand-formed wire grids
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Installation: Five illuminated environments with ambient sound
Related Stories
1. Eight Thousand Miles of Home & Vana Retreats, India
Discover how Ango’s original silk-cocoon installation concept evolved into Vana Paradise, a suspended lighting sculpture created for the reception of Vana Retreats in Dehradun, India.
2. Royal Gems: Custom Silk Cocoon Lighting
Explore the refurbishment of Royal Gems, where Ango developed custom silk-cocoon lighting in response to the architecture and interior setting.
3. Ango Art Exhibitions
Explore Ango’s architectural light installations and experimental works presented in international art and design exhibitions.
