Briggs’ Lanterns

If you have noticed an illuminated addition to a Brisbane CBD laneway, you are looking at the brainchild of designer KT Doyle, the recipient of Urban Art Projects (UAP) inaugural 3-month Mentorship Residency – facilitated by artisan idea:skill:product.

The sculptural lighting installation composed of nine lighting elements is part of a temporary exhibition in the entrance to Briggs Lane.

As part of the Brisbane City Council’s ‘Vibrant Laneways and Small Spaces ‘Inhabit’ Program’, the lights serve to animate the space whilst shedding light on a neglected part of the city’s heritage.

J Briggs & Sons were drapers with a store at 428 George Street for the first half of the 20th century, which backed onto what is now known as Briggs Lane.

The tribute to the Briggs’ business comes in the form of these nine fabric-covered sculptural lanterns, which are printed with the same silhouette as the back of a Victorian era dining chair.

“The silhouette has been given a contemporary twist when it is repeated and transferred on to textiles and intricate patterned motifs that encase the laser cut frames”, says Doyle of her innovative designs.

The laneways’ previous tenants would be proud to see the once bustling Tank Street precinct, which buzzed with enterprises and guesthouses, revitalised by this artistic initiative.

Briggs’ Lanterns
ktdoyle.com

Artisan idea:skill:product
artisan.org.au 

Urban Art Projects
uap.com.au

All photography by Troy Hansen