crystallized french chandeliers

Crystals seeded onto discarded French chandeliers and candelabras literally bloom like flowers over time, growing as if they’re alive. For his ‘Overgrown’ collection, artist Mark Sturkenboom accumulated unwanted objects and utterly transformed them, taking ‘trash to treasure’ to a whole new level. The chunky, irregular crystals are reminiscent of ice or salt and have a wild, uncontrollable appearance, mimicking what much of the Earth might look like if humans disappeared and it were left to its own devices.

crystallized French chandeliers  detail crystallized French chandeliers living light

That’s the idea behind the series, says Sturkenboom, who envisions “relics from a desolate flooded world.” After poring through junk shops and curbside toss-aways for antique brass chandeliers in Paris, the designer plated them in 14 karat gold and coated them in a crystal growing fluid he brewed himself, creating “the perfect conditions to set a hyperevolution in motion.”

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The pieces in the Overgrown collection are presented in their finished state, but it would have been cool to see the whole process as the crystals developed, changing the shape of each object over time. They definitely look like they could have been pulled from the frozen sea a few thousand years from now, as the artist intended. They’re available via Sturkenboom’s website, ranging from 850-1200 euros.

More from the artist

“Our world is cluttered with stuff, how would the world look like a few thousand years from now? Overgrown is a series of chandeliers and candelabra that appear to be relics from that desolate flooded world where the influence of time is key. A theme that’s intertwined with Sturkenboom’s oeuvre. Atelier Mark Sturkenboom designed a fluid, based on minerals, which allows objects to grow crystals over a period of time.”

“He reclaimed antique French chandeliers and candelabra and created the perfect conditions to set a hyper-evolution in motion where every object grows out to be a unique piece, a modern interpretation of a crystal chandelier. These pieces are part of Sturkenboom’s ongoing fascination of the influence that hyper-deterioration has on modern life, glimpsing in the future. It is also possible for us to transform museum pieces, inheritance pieces or special objects to your liking.”