ANDREW PALACE - INSPIRED BY THE WORLD OF SCI FI

Andrew Palace from Metal As Anything has just finished his pop up ‘Space Invaders’ exhibition at Ponsonby Central. We asked him a few questions.


My early forays into the sci fi book world of Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, plus an early 50s movie ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ and also later ‘Blakes 7’, ‘Dr Who’ and ‘Lost in Space’ whetted my appetite for all things alien.

Where do you find your materials?
Much of the inspiration comes from the actual pieces of scrap metal, brass and copper that I find on my regular searches of scrap yards and junk shops, where I often find unusual pieces of retro glass. There are times when I pick up a piece of brass or copper and the whole spaceship lamp forms in my mind. I also use a lot of marbles, ground and polished glass rods for tail jets, prisms and magnified glass from binoculars and an assortment of cast and blown glass from my glass-blowing and casting friends.

How long have you been creating your lamps and how long does each one take to build?
I have been creating lamps for the last 25 years. I started by making candelabras but found that too limiting and quickly moved on to making lamps that were at first very organic forms - palms, pukas, ferns, interspersed with more contemporary lamps and the occasional space ship. Over the last five years I have concentrated on spaceships as I decided they were my real love in lamps. One can let their imagination run wild and there is no end to the shapes and forms that can be turned into an alien craft. The lamps take on average three weeks to build, depending on complexity. There is a lot of thought -time involved in this, as one is not just making a sculpture but something that has to be able to be taken apart to fit the light fixtures and also to change the bulbs. Most of the lamps I now make are fitted with LEDs, this gives a very long bulb life, very little heat and small sizes to fit in tight places.

Do you have a favourite piece?
I don’t generally have a favourite piece as I have never made a lamp that I didn’t love. I am often asked how can I bear to part with them, but my joy comes from seeing them take pride of place in someone’s home. I am proud of every piece I have ever made, but, well, okay, I really like my flying saucer with the alien on the escalator holding a ray gun and also my ray gun with a sound card that shoots a laser beam when it makes
a ray gun noise.

Did you enjoy having your show at Ponsonby Central?
This was my second show in a pop up shop at Ponsonby Central, and I have found the team there to be always friendly and helpful. Being a destination with a variety of shops and cafe restaurants means that you don’t have to attract people to your space, they are coming there anyway, so all in all a great experience.

Contact Andrew on M: 021 592 296 or www.facebook.com/andy.palace?fref=ts