'TURQUOISE CAGE 1', glass object / vessel / vase

This turquoise glass object originates from a glass-blowing project, by Gala Fernandez, realised with the skilled glass-blowers of acclaimed glass manufacturer NOUVEL Studio in México City. The liquid glass is blown into various shaped and sized birdcages serving as the moulds for this process. Once the housings for colourful birds, the cages have transcended into objects, containers, vases or vessels, new life has literally been blown into them. The objects are a result of the interaction of the hot fluid glass with the moulds.
The colour and crystal quality of the glass is remarkable and highly rated, as are the skills of the glass-blowers.
The project questions the status of confinement versus refuge. A cage can be conceived as imprisonment or a cosy shelter for comfort. The glass works subtly capture this essence of limitation, protection and custody in an imaginative fashion. Gala Fernández is a Spanish designer now living and working in Milan. Born in Madrid, Gala holds a degree in art and design from the faculty of Fine Art at the University Complutense in Madrid (1987-1992), a Master degree in Industrial Design from the European Institute of Design in Milan (1994) and a Master in Product Design from the European Institute in Madrid.