Matt Waring

Eleftheria Deko

As the international lighting design community continues to grow, we have over the years seen the emergence of some thriving scenes – regions or nations where the profession is progressing at a rapid rate, producing a strong collection of designers. One such region is in Greece, where the balmy climate and beautiful, classic architecture has inspired many to take up lighting design. However, it wasn’t always this way.

“If you are a pioneer, you scratch your feet, because there is no path. And there was no path in Greece back then for me.”

So says the acclaimed, multi-[d]arc award winning Eleftheria Deko, who led the way in bringing lighting design, as a recognised profession, to Greece, crafting an extensive portfolio of work that spans the stage, artistic installations, and architectural lighting design since the early 90s.

Her introduction to lighting design, as with many designers around the world, was through the theatre. However, in the very early days, she was in front of the lights, rather than behind them.

“My background was in dance, I was dancing from five years old,” she recalls. “I love dance, it’s a unique way of artistic expression. I grew up in the dance world, thinking that I would become a dancer, a choreographer.

“But I was always fascinated by the backstage, and the magic of lighting, even the fixtures themselves, and the “blinding” effect of the light – when you are on stage, you are bathed with light. This feeling helped also my shyness as I was nervous on stage, and with the front spotlights, I couldn’t see the audience directly, which helped my stage anxiety. So, my first reaction to lighting was being the subject of it, and dancing with it.”

This love of dance was combined with a growing interest in photography when, on her 12th birthday, Deko was given a camera by her father.

“It was a new world for me to see things in frame, and very carefully to choose the framing. If I look back at some of these first photographs, it is very interesting to see that I liked to shoot shadows and shades of buildings. As a lighting designer now I like the playful duet of light and shadow. My moto is: music without pauses is unbearable, so is lighting without darkness’.”

The final thing that Deko feels influenced her “on a subconscious level”, was her hometown. “I come from a Cycladic Island, and the light there is very ‘crispy’. I don’t know the word in English, but to me, it is something that you can touch; you can even munch the light. Its reflections, the shadows, the hues of sunlight on Cycladic nature and the traditional architecture, for me, it is magical. As a child, I was playing in the fields of Tinos Island, and I remember the shadow ‘painting’ on the sand and the reflections of the beautiful shiny stone that this island is known for.

“These, together with my love and studies in Art History influenced the way that I see light, and how deeply inside me these things have been absorbed, in a way they come out afterwards. But I never thought of lighting design as a profession.”

And so, after graduating from the school of Philosophy in Athens and having a diploma as a dance professor, Deko packed her bags and left for New York, where she first studied performance – chorography at New York University. But even here, lighting had already begun to take hold.

“On the Master’s programme, there was an elective module on lighting design. This was the first that I took – before dance, before anything, the first module I enrolled in was lighting design. This was because I wanted to do the lighting for my choreographies, I didn’t know then that this first urge meant to bring me to my life’s vocation.”

So impressed was she by lighting, that Deko started a two-year programme on lighting design at Alwin Nikolais school alongside her Master’s degree, and was asked by the course leader to do her thesis on lighting. She adds: “Although I was there for dance, everything was lighting design. If I was asked if I, myself, made the decision to change to lighting design, I would say that life made the decision for me.”

With further encouragement from the university faculty, Deko landed more lighting roles with dance companies in New York, including the Blue Mercury co. from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – an intense experience, as Deko recalls. “Blue Mercury came to give a performance at NYU theater and our professor at the time was getting married and moving to California. The chairman, instead of hiring someone else, trusted me, and asked if I would do the lighting, and without a second thought I said ‘yes, of course, it’s a professional dance company’. I had no money to pay for technical crew, so I had to hang and focus 180 lights all by myself, working from 7am until 4am the next morning for a week, going home to shower, and take a one hour power nap. But I did it, and I did it well.”

The following year, Deko was asked to teach at NYU – a testament to her work lighting the performances – and started doing lighting for other dance companies that were graduating from the university. “I was very good and quick because as a dancer I knew very well how to write the lighting cue notes, and so on.”

She then landed a role as Technical Director and in-house lighting designer at the highly reputed HT Chen and Dancers company. However, a change in personal circumstances meant that in the early 90s, Deko moved back to Greece, where she found herself caught in a strange sense of limbo. “It was very strange for me coming back to Greece, because people didn’t trust me as a lighting designer, but they didn’t approach me as a dancer either, but by then, I was a lighting designer, not a dancer anymore.”

In fact, Deko’s first jobs back on home soil came through connections that she had made in New York, when a US-based company asked her to work on a performance for the Summer Festival of Modern Dance in Crete. This, however, was the spark that lit the flame, with Deko fast building her reputation in the stage lighting world and working steadily throughout the 90s, eventually leading to her establishing her own practice, Eleftheria Deko & Associates, in 2001, just as a major opportunity came calling – the Olympic Games Athens 2004.

“I was approached by the director of the opening ceremony, and he asked me to be a part of the creative team that was realising the scenario that he had in his mind, and he asked me if I would like to do the lighting as well. My first thought was positive, although it was a huge show! At the time, the ceremony’s scenario was broken down into four sections, and I thought of having four lighting designers – one for each section, each with their own style.

“I wanted to bring in Luc Lafortune, lighting designer of Cirque du Soleil, [television lighting designer] Robert Dickinson, Durham Marenghi, and myself. In the end, it came down to myself and Robert Dickinson, as at the time, he had the experience of working on big events like this, he did the Atlanta Olympic Games, and also working with television cameras. This was another important factor to consider – the lighting might have looked good for the eyes in the stadium, but it had to look good for television as well, for the 5 billion TV audience. Especially with the cameras at the time, as they were not digital yet; you had to sacrifice either your warm colour hues of reds, oranges, yellows, or sacrifice the cooler colour hues of blue, turquoise, etc. We gave priority to the blues because of the Aegean Sea and the Greek sky.”

While Deko was working prolifically in theatres across Greece prior to the Olympic Games (by 2002, she had done 350 shows), she had also started to show an interest in the architectural field, visiting trade shows such as Lightfair in the US, Euroluce, and Light+Building, to see how the two worlds were coalescing.

“I always liked interior design, and I was going to these trade shows for inspiration for theatrical lighting, but also to see the architectural lighting evolution. I was very lucky, because it was the period that theatrical stage lighting and architectural lighting were starting to shake hands, LEDs were just appearing and shaping the beam, colour, were making their presence in architectural fixtures.

“I remember looking at a new outdoor fixture of iGuzzini that was shaping the beam, with a strong lens and shutters, and I liked how architecture was starting to borrow elements from the theatre. DMX and smart dimming were also emerging in the architectural world, and these were things that I knew very well, they were my tools in creating scenes in theatre.”

Deko recalls one of her early ventures into architectural lighting, when she was approached by a hotelier in northern Athens to create “something more theatrical” for the hotel lobby – a project that further springboarded her into the architectural sphere.

“When I was asked to do the lobby, I created a nice atmosphere by using lights from outside coming through the windows where we had to customise the fixtures to avoid glare. Everybody was fascinated, and following this, I was asked to do the showroom of a furniture store, then iGuzzini’s distributors in Greece approached me to teach my concept behind lighting design in theatre, in order to give to designers inspiration to think of lighting in a different way. Sharing is so inspiring for both sides and to me, it is very boring to do the same thing repetitively.

“From working in performing arts lighting, I knew the interesting things you could do with shaping, colour, dimming; these elements could give a different atmosphere, a different touch than a beautiful chandelier in the middle of a room.

“I always thought that the power of lighting is not only to make things visible or being comfortable in sight; the power of lighting is more. It can create magic. We knew it very well in stage lighting, so I thought ‘why not in architectural lighting as well?’”

As more architectural lighting projects came to Deko, so did more teaching opportunities. After her work on the Olympic Games, she was approached by the theatre department at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki’s School of Fine Arts. As a faculty member she taught stage lighting for 14 years (2005-2019), and considers her time teaching the next generation here as “one of my greatest achievements”.

“I also taught lighting in the architectural department of the Open University for two years. I hope I have influenced the new generation of lighting designers to go beyond what they already know, to go beyond what is given to them and create the need for new lighting fixtures, new ways of control, but more, the new philosophy, new thinking of lighting and its impact.”

One of the core facets of her teaching was what she calls the “Seven Notes of Lighting”, seven qualities that are the same across stage and architectural lighting. These include: intensity, direction, diffusion, colour, rhythm and movement, shaping, and light objects. “Like in music, with seven notes, you can create endless music and songs, so too with the combination of these seven elements, you can create endless lighting cues for architecture or for stage.”

Indeed, these seven tenets form a key part of Deko’s design approach, however before even considering these, she takes a broader view, tries to empty her preconceptions, her mind, and look anew at every project and how lighting can “create a dialogue” with the space or building.

“I believe that the architecture is the protagonist, and lighting should accommodate, highlight it. Lighting should not impose, it should respect architecture and highlight its elements. It’s the same in theatre. A lighting designer should not show off and add more than necessary just for the image, they should always decide with respect to the architecture or to the play, and with measure.

“What I start from is the play, if it is stage lighting, or the building itself in architecture. I let the building or scenography speak; some are more photogenic, some are not – and these make the work of a lighting designer more difficult – but I think respect, observation, simplicity, and a less-is-more approach is best to start with. Together with the team, we brainstorm on ideas until we come up with something that is fulfilling to our minds, then we apply the seven elements, right position for direction, intensity, colour temperature, diffusion etc. and we develop the design. This way, projects do not look like each other, and the lighting is created specifically for each project, not ‘to our style’. When the lighting of a building has such mentality behind it, it breathes beautifully at night.”

However, by taking a more “restrained” approach and focusing only on what is needed, rather than adding more than necessary, Deko adds that she can sometimes get into conflicts with clients, leading to some difficult decisions.

“If there is something that the client wants, and if it is in contrast with our philosophy, what I call our ‘ethics of aesthetics’, if it is fighting with our principles, I just ask the client to consider again if they want our studio to do the design. I’m very polite and honest, and I respect the desire of the clients, but if it’s opposite to our principles, we don’t want to continue on undertaking that collaboration.”

Difficult conversations to have with clients, but this is something that Deko is no stranger to, having had to fight for a seat at the table when she first started out in lighting design.

She discusses the battles that came with being the only woman in a male-dominated field: “When I came back to Greece in 1992, there were only male electricians and directors of photography. I had to behave in a certain way, dress in a certain way, and in the beginning, I wasn’t respected as a lighting designer, they were saying ‘this young girl will not tell us what to do’. There was a moment when the electricians told to the artistic director of the national theatre, ‘if you bring her here to do the lighting, we will go on strike’.

“Another time they came to me and said, ‘I cannot pay you as a lighting designer, but if you pretend to be the assistant of the set designer, I could’. I had to say ‘I’m sorry, I am a lighting designer. I can help the set designer and the director, with no payment, but I will not sign as a different person than I am’.

“There were many difficult moments – I often got called a male name, not my name – but what brought me through is my humour. I would walk into the theatre and say to the guys, ‘good morning, ladies!’ And soon the ice broke.’

“I never stopped, nothing put me down. I said, ‘it’s their problem not mine’. My passion is my work. I do my best, and I always treat everybody with respect and a smile, in the theatre, on the construction site, I have the same respect for the owner, the architect, the electrician, the person who cleans the floor. For me, this is a very important.

Very soon I gained respect from all, both men and women in both fields. Today there are more women lighting designers in Greece than men. This is a kind of revenge.”

Indeed, the level of work that Deko has consistently produced throughout her career, including not just the Olympic Games opening ceremony, but the incredible lighting of one of Greece’s most important landmarks, the Acropolis, has seen her gain worldwide recognition, especially from the design community – she has four [d]arc awards to her name, including three in one year for the Acropolis project. It is this recognition, that she feels holds most weight.

“With the Olympic Games and the Acropolis, I feel very blessed, and very lucky, to have two of these globally recognised projects in one lifetime – I can retire now.

“If you are the first who did something, you have nobody to share what you have gone through. You stay with it, keep it inside and you move on to the next day. To have this recognition from colleagues, it is very moving. It is like an embrace from your artistic family, your professional family. It is important to get recognition from your clients, of course, but the recognition of people who know the work is really beautiful and uplifting.”

Across her many accolades though, Deko has always remained humble, treating each award as recognition for her home country. “The first international award that my team and I received was the Emmy for the Opening Ceremony of 2004 Olympics. I was honoured to give the acceptance speech, and for me, this award was a moment that was for all of Greece. It was not me holding it, it was all Greeks. It was also elevating the level of Greek lighting design.

“Every achievement, if it’s an award, praise, recognition anything, it’s not for the individual, otherwise it becomes egoistic. It is for the team. I am who I am because of my team. I got here because of my parents, my teachers, my colleagues, my path, so these trophies award everybody’s efforts.”

As for the “next day”, Deko is showing no signs of slowing down. Although she admits that she feels very “fulfilled”, there is still a “flame and a passion about good lighting” that burns bright inside her.

As a studio, Eleftheria Deko & Associates has a broad array of projects currently in the works – many of which following a similar theme to her award-winning work on the Acropolis, which taps into her ongoing fascination with Ancient Greek history and culture. “The inauguration of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion took place in September. We are also working on the Temple of the Goddess Aphaia in Aegina. These temples, along with the Acropolis, if you place their precise location on a map, create a perfect isosceles triangle – the Ancient Greek metaphysics is amazing to me, I wonder how they managed to choose these locations 2,500 years ago.

“One of my great passions for lighting is heritage, museums and ancient monuments. With these projects I go back to school again.”

“In school I liked ancient Greek history and philosophy very much. My godfather was one the most famous archaeologists in Greece, and because of our close relation, everybody thought that I would become a scientist, an archaeologist just like him. But I was more artistic as a person, although he still inspired me with his wisdom. “Hopefully another two monuments will have been completed by the end of 2025 – one is the Dikteon Cave in Crete, which in mythology was the birthplace of Zeus, and the other is the fortress of Acrocorinth at the ancient city of Corinth, as well as the new archaeological museum of Cyprus.”

And Deko is hopeful that she can continue to be an inspiration for the younger generation of designers emerging in the industry. While she may have left her former teaching roles, she has other plans in mind that she hopes will inspire.

“Not that I feel old, but when we grow older, we have to give space to new people, younger people to express themselves – I’m trying to give more opportunities to the younger people on my team.

“I also feel the time has come to write. I would like to write a book, not about my technique on lighting, but about my philosophy and approach, as if it might inspire someone. By writing it down, I can take the big message and focus it down on pages.”

As for the future of lighting design, Deko has high expectations for where the profession will go, and how it will be perceived by the wider design sphere.

“I think that lighting design is becoming a very, very attractive profession. Lighting designers have the tools and the power to create magic, and I think we are entering the great era of lighting design. Obviously working together with architects and interior designers, but I think lighting design will be recognised for the impact it has independently. Lighting is evolving very fast in a fascinating way!

“In Greece we have an expression, ‘Pan Metron Ariston’, which means ‘everything in measure is perfect’. So, I think in this new era of lighting, with all this speedy evolution in technology,  we should let the Greek proverb about measure be our guide.”

www.edeko.gr

An in-depth report on Deko’s work on the Acropolis can be found in arc 119, or you can read the full article here.

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by Matt Waring

Studio Waldemeyer

20 years since Moritz Waldemeyer established his eponymous design studio, arc sits down with the German designer, and his partner / Product Designer Nazanin Farahbod, to talk about the growth of the studio, and their unique role as “Art Engineers”.

It is often said that lighting design is the meeting point between art and engineering; bridging the gap between creativity, expression, and science – its ethereal qualities bringing together architecture and interiors in the intangible way that only light can.

This fusion, an almost paradoxical marriage, forms the basis of the work of product designer, lighting experimentalist, and self-confessed “Art Engineer”, Moritz Waldemeyer, who this year celebrates the 20th anniversary of his eponymous design studio.

Across his extensive body of work, Waldemeyer has crafted bespoke creations for the automotive industry, the fashion world, music and live entertainment, with a client list including such star names as Bentley, Swarovski, Jamiroquai, and the Cirque du Soleil. Each time forging unique pieces that beautifully blend art and technology.

This combination of disciplines is something that Waldemeyer believes has been with him since childhood. Speaking to arc at his beautiful home studio in London, he says: “The story starts best with my upbringing; I grew up in East Germany under communism, which was obviously a very different experience to what we have today. You couldn’t really buy anything, you couldn’t travel anywhere, everything was very reduced. And on top of it, we were very aware that we were on the ‘wrong’ side of the fence, because we had Western TV. But within that, I grew up in an artistic family, so there was always a lot of creativity.

“Throughout my childhood, I knew I had to escape my situation. My uncle, who came to London in the ‘80s to work as a designer and architect, became my role model. Following his example, I packed my bags and came to London to study engineering. This blend of art and engineering forms the foundation of everything we do today.”

Once in the UK, Waldemeyer studied Mechatronics at King’s College – an amalgamation of mechanical and electronic engineering, “with a little bit of computer science thrown in for good measure”, that he believes gave him the most complete understanding of “all the engineering disciplines rolled into one”.

It was during his studies that Waldemeyer first started playing with light, experimenting with early iterations of LEDs. This then took him on a path that, at the turn of the century, led him to Signify (then Philips), where he worked as a Research Scientist.

For a man always looking to push the boundaries of what was possible with lighting technology, he refers to this as “the place to be”. “Philips was very much ahead of the game, looking into the future. I was in the research department, so it was all about futurology, figuring out where it all goes, and researching and doing projects. So, that’s where all of these things came together.

“This marked the beginning of the rise of LED technology, and we already knew it was going to be the next big thing while most of the world was still using incandescent lamps. We had graphs and discussions about a ‘Moore’s Law of LED,’ predicting the doubling of output or halving of price per output over specific periods. We knew exactly where the technology was headed.

“They were also doing incredible work in wearable electronics, which later became a significant aspect of my work. It was probably the best place in the world for that kind of innovation.”

Waldemeyer spent four years at Philips, honing his craft, before making the decision in 2004 to establish his own design studio – a decision made in part thanks to a chance collaboration with a big-name client.

He recalls: “There was a moment when an opportunity came about to start working with Swarovski. So, I had to make a decision – did I want to stay at Philips? My project at that moment was less engaging and this opportunity with Swarovski, working in the design world, was so much more exciting.”

Indeed, this first move into the world of design saw Waldemeyer collaborate not only with Swarovski, but with renowned architect Ron Arad, on a custom, interactive chandelier to which viewers could send text messages.

“I met Ron through a friend who was working for him at the time. My friend said, ‘You should meet Ron, I think he would like what you can do.’ And indeed, he did.

“Ron approached me with a project right away, saying, ‘I’ve been asked to make a chandelier for Swarovski. I want to create a text message chandelier. Can you do it?’ I replied, ‘I can certainly try.’

“I had four weeks to complete the project, and it was then showcased at Milan Design Week in 2004. It was presented right next to Ingo Maurer’s latest chandelier, so I got to meet him, Ron, and Nadja Swarovski – the crème de la crème of the design world. Suddenly, I was in the midst of it all.”

Thrust into the upper echelons of the design world right from the start, Waldemeyer explains that while he was first establishing his own studio, it was opportunity, rather than an over-arching mission statement, that drove him forward.

“In the beginning, it was about following curiosity and seizing opportunities. It was incredibly exciting because I was likely the only person with this unique skillset, and I somehow managed to enter at the top level.

“Suddenly, I had requests and opportunities to work with remarkable people – something I could never have foreseen or even dreamt of. Initially, I was simply following this momentum. Over time, I was able to refine my direction and decide where I wanted to take it and where it would lead.”

Where it did lead was for Waldemeyer to coin the term “art engineer” as a way to better describe the kind of work that he does, while also inspiring the studio’s philosophy.

Nazanin Farahbod, Waldemeyer’s partner, and Product Designer within Studio Waldemeyer, explains: “Our philosophy is to ‘create new emotions’ by developing concepts that tell relatable stories while using new technology in surprising ways. It’s about merging these two elements seamlessly.

“When we call ourselves ‘art engineers,’ it’s because we truly engineer the art. What sets our studio apart is our in-house capability to bring concepts to life without relying on external teams.

“While others may need separate groups to realise their ideas, we handle everything ourselves. We can iterate, prototype, and refine quickly. This ability to control the entire process is why we are art engineers.”

Waldemeyer adds: “A major advantage of combining art and engineering is that our ideas are always feasible because this practicality is ingrained in our thinking. We’re very efficient in our creativity. While we do R&D, we usually conceive ideas with a clear understanding of how to execute them, making the process from concept to presentation quite straightforward with minimal adjustments.

“In our earlier years, we pushed boundaries and sometimes went a step too far. Now, we better understand the importance of aligning with the client’s perspective and expectations. We educate them on what is feasible and what they can realistically expect.”

This is something that Farahbod believes sets the studio apart, although it can sometimes lead to slightly more difficult requests, as she explains: “For example, in 2017, Cirque du Soleil approached us to create a dress that could change colour without using LEDs. We conceived a dress adorned with flowers that open and close revealing a red blossom on a white background. This allowed for animations that controlled the dress’s colour. The technology was embedded in each flower, but the focus was on evoking emotion.

“Similarly, we recently met with Philippe Starck, who asked us to create something never seen before, trusting us to bring the vision to life.

“Balancing the artistic and engineering aspects is crucial in our work. We undergo extensive R&D to achieve our desired outcomes. It’s a matter of intuition; there’s no set formula for balancing emotion and technology – you just know when it’s right. We aim to avoid appearing too tech-heavy, instead, we focus on wonder, magic, and storytelling.”

That being said, Studio Waldemeyer does go to great lengths to ensure that it is at the forefront of lighting technology, and fully aware of any new advancements that are emerging.

Waldemeyer continues: “We go to a lot of different kinds of events, not just lighting. We go to electronic fairs; I’ve been out in China to the Shenzhen Market, literally to the source. I’ve been to see the company that we work with that makes the LEDs we use to look at the process and understand how I can use this technology to do what I want.”

One such example of the studio’s tech-centric approach to design has been in its LED “candles”. Used to great effect in Waldemeyer’s landmark large-scale installation, Mythos Mozart exhibition in Vienna, the candles produce a strikingly lifelike, flickering flame, composed entirely of LEDs.

“We took apart the LEDs to their bare components, and then reassembled them into the candle module,” Waldemeyer explains.

“It’s a single component, with some chips integrated between LEDs, making them invisible. This dives deep into LED technology. Achieving this is a significant milestone because such technology is typically inaccessible to designers like us. Most lighting designers wouldn’t understand when I mention we’ve created a COB candle – I have to explain the entire process for them to appreciate it.

“Chip on board (COB) technology is gaining traction. It involves working with the individual components of LEDs and reassembling them into new shapes and forms that weren’t possible with traditional electronics.

“This is just one example showing our passion for animated light. Most artificial light has been static since Edison’s time, whereas natural light is always changing. We strive to reintroduce this dynamic quality into artificial lighting and living environments.”

Studio Waldemeyer used 1,500 of these COB candles in the Mythos Mozart exhibition, as part of an incredibly dramatic, and emotionally stirring, light show.

Farahbod explains: “The museum is located precisely where Mozart died. We were given two rooms: one to visualize his brain and the other to evoke the emotion of his final moments. We installed 1,500 individually controllable candles, allowing us to manipulate their brightness and movement, or even let them act randomly. We created an eight-minute experience that moved viewers to tears. We were told that people sit down, cry, and become deeply emotional during this experience. Our goal is always to use technology to create emotion.”

Another emotionally stirring highlight from the studio was a piece created for London Design Festival 2023, entitled Halo. Situated at St Stephen Walbrook Church, the piece was a celebration of the work of Christopher Wren – the architect who rebuilt the city after the Great Fire of London – 300 years after his death. Seen as a precursor to St. Paul’s Cathedral, the St Stephen Walbrook Church is considered by many as Wren’s best work, “because of the scale, and the way it works with the light, and the airiness of the architecture,” according to Waldemeyer. One of its defining features is the circular Henry Moore altar, which sits at the church’s centre. For Halo, Waldemeyer installed a hanging, illuminated pendulum that gently rotates around the circular altar.

He continues: “The aim was to put people into a meditative state. The architecture is designed to remove you from your daily experience, encouraging introspection and meditation. We wanted to offer this to everyone, regardless of their faith, providing a new way to experience this architecture.

“The pendulum, thanks to its length, circles slowly, taking about nine seconds for a full revolution. When you sit and watch it, it draws you in, which was our intention. This blend of technology and meditation shows how a pendulum’s swing is governed by pure mathematics. It also reflects how Wren perceived himself – primarily as a scientist, with architecture being a side discipline to his larger scientific interests.”

Elsewhere in a remarkable back catalogue of projects, Waldemeyer has worked with iconic fashion brands, big name musicians, and in the automotive industry, working with the likes of Audi, Hyundai, and most notably Bentley, where to coincide with the brand’s 100-year-anniversary, he collaborated on its EXP 100 GT concept car.

As a self-confessed “Petrolhead”, Waldemeyer says that, across his body of work, the automotive projects stand out as favourites. “There are a couple of reasons for it,” he explains. “First, I personally really love the topic. It probably harks back to my upbringing in East Germany, because I grew up in a Trabant [an East German car, colloquially known for its poor design and operation], so it’s a very exciting industry.

“Additionally, it’s a very professional environment. Unlike the fashion or music industries, where things have a quick turnaround, the automotive industry has well-educated expectations and a highly professional way of interacting and collaborating.

“When proposing a complex technical project to an automotive engineer, there’s a precise understanding of what to expect and deliver due to their engineering education.

“In contrast, in the fashion and music industry the expectation of extremely fast turnarounds at very low cost in itself provides a sometimes insurmountable challenge.”

Because of this, although he has a lengthy, star-studded client list, there is one name that Waldemeyer still has on his Bucket List of collaborators.

“Gordon Murray, the South African car designer, is someone I repeatedly mention. We’ve found interviews from over 10 years ago where I still talk about him, but he hasn’t called me yet. He probably never will, as his mindset goes in a very different direction. When we work on cars, we bring drama with light, while he derives drama from the engine and car dynamics, adhering strictly to the principle of form follows function.

I’ve seen him discuss lighting, and for him, it’s purely functional. He prefers round lights for their timelessness. So, a collaboration is unlikely, but I still admire his pure approach, even if our styles don’t really align.”

Similarly in the music world, while he has worked with some huge stars, including creating a custom bass guitar for U2, an animated, moving headpiece for Jamiroqai, and a light-up jacket for Will.i.am during the Black Eyed Peas’ Superbowl Half Time Show, he is still holding out hope for one act in particular. “I’d love to work with Rammstein. They’re total pyromaniacs!

“The most impressive use of light on stage I’ve ever seen was by their singer, Till Lindemann. He had his cheek pierced to insert a fiber optic light into his mouth, so when he sings and opens his mouth, it’s fully illuminated. That is total commitment!”

While these two examples have yet to come calling, Waldemeyer and Farahbod reveal that the studio has several exciting works in progress at the moment (none of which he can talk about as the studio is “constantly signing NDAs”). Given the extraordinary output from the studio over its first 20 years, expectations are high, but no doubt these expectations will be met, and exceeded.

www.waldemeyer.com

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by Matt Waring