Next time you go to Marion Wine Bar, remember to look up. Designer and sculptor Sarah Nedovic has created Readymade, a lighting installation for Melbourne Design Week that casts a brilliant glow above the main dining room.

Working with glass artist Ruth Allen and Duetto Studio, with advice from Marion’s original architect Iva Foscia, Nedovic produced the striking series of pendant lights using bespoke glass bottles lit from within and suspended from the ornate ceiling.

“I was really drawn to bottle glass, because it’s a material that we put in our recycling bins every day, and I’m surrounded by bottled glass,” said Nedovic at a launch breakfast attended by Melbourne’s design leaders. “I was also drawn to [factory] Economic Industries, which is what the space used to be.”

We think you might like Access. For $12 a month, join our membership program to stay in the know.

SIGN UP

The bottles are fused in blocks of 12, in three horizontal bars resembling thick sticks of bamboo. They look instantly at home amid the shelves of glinting wine bottles and rough-hewn brick walls of the Fitzroy diner.

“It feels like a mini production line, the repetition of the bottles. Even the process of making the bottles with Ruth is an old industrial process,” Nedovic explained. “You can see the ends of the pendant are the bottom of the bottle, so it hasn’t gone too far away from what the original bottle actually looks like.”

The work pays homage to artist Marcel Duchamp, celebrated for removing everyday objects from their regular settings and casting them in a new light. “Sarah is very courageous going into this uncharted territory,” said Allen. “As a glassblower of 35 years’ experience, I know the material and I know what it’s capable of … We ended up developing a mould and blowing into that mould to make these creations.”

It was crucial that the finished piece matched the timeless interior of the restaurant, which Foscia designed to develop a lived-in patina over time. “Sarah’s vision and talent has added beautifully to the Marion experience,” said owner Andrew McConnell in a statement. “We love how the lights encourage people to see the potential in seemingly mundane materials of the everyday, whilst adding another layer of light and a warm glow to the dining room.”

Readymade for Melbourne Design Week is on until June 2 at Marion Wine Bar, 53 Gertrude Street, Fitzroy.