What is it? A mystery? An object from outer space? From what period of history did it emerge? Which era? Who could have invented such an object? These are the first questions that spring to mind when you see the ISP lamp, the work of a young ‘engineer-artist’. He’s 30 years old. His name is Ilia Sergeevich Potemine. ISP is a mini-revolution in the lighting world. Aesthetically, it resembles nothing on earth. It’s not inspired by any existing lamp, nor is it a reproduction of some obscure design from a bygone era. It is a resolutely contemporary object. A jewel of a lamp that illuminates a mysterious universe. At the same time, it is a mechanical jewel, one that is encased in a simple brass capsule. ISP makes us all masters of light: it has no switch, no dimmer. From obscurity to light with a period of eclipse in between, our relationship to the object is itself part of the experience. ISP switched off, eclipsed, or lit up.
