Ron Gilad's Mirror light

Object of desire This intriguing and mystical mirror is definitely setting precedent for mirror design. Serving as a mirror cum light, it honestly is a wonder.

The prototypes shown in Milan are expected to go into production later this year.
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One of the most arresting and lyrically beautiful objects in Milan last week is something I stumbled upon by chance. Having seen the inspiring new Soft Architecture lighting installation by Flos in Zona Tortona, I thought I had seen the company's new offer for this year. So, nipping through Flos's smallest showroom in Corso Monforte on the way to the BMW-Kvadrat party was just a quick and slightly cheeky short cut. Or so I thought. There, in a completely unadorned display (think ascetic art gallery, rather than Milan attention-grabber) were just six pieces: Ron Gilad's Mirror lights. They stopped me in my tracks. I actually gasped. Then spent more than 20 minutes, entranced. Embedded in the deepest layer of the mirror, drawings of architectural interiors are completely invisible beneath the flat plane of the surface when the light is switched off, then illuminate to create magical, surrealistic perspectives. On other mirrors the New York-based designer has drawn on the surface, in hyper-real 3D style, images of some instantly recognisable modern classic lamps - Parentesi by Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzu, 2097 by Gino Sarfatti and Fucsia by Achille Castiglioni. With these, the blurring of reality and play on perspective are even more marked, as the lit lamps appear to be floating in the space around us. I am so glad I found them. The prototypes shown in Milan are expected to go into production later this year. Flos lighting is available in Abu Dhabi from Atmosphere, Khalidiya, 02 666 5053 and in Dubai from Baituti, ­Zabeel Road, 04 344 4478 and B&B Italia, Mall of the Emirates, 04 340 5797