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Tokujin Yoshioka is back with a new torch design. This time, he employs clear glass as his primary material and doubles its layer to create a glass-within-a-glass concept. The dual clear glass structure enables the release of heat from the flame while allowing air to circulate and produce unwavering fire. Tokujin Yoshioka designed the torch used for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games where he used cherry blossoms as his motif.

For Glass Torch, he explores the materiality of glass, a seemingly favorite component to work on considering his previous glass projects such as his watch series O for Issey Miyake, 600 crystals of light installation at Tokyo Metro Ginza, and fountain low tables for Glas Italia. The Glass Torch is the official torch for the Japan Game Saga (formerly National Sports Festival of Japan) in 2024, and it will be exhibited at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 3 in Japan between September 14th and November 5th, 2023.

OFFICIAL TORCH OF THE JAPAN GAME SAGA IN 2024

Tokujin Yoshioka has sought to unravel the nature of light in his bodies of work. Glass, with its translucent feature and fragile yet sturdy materiality, can allow the multidisciplinary artist and designer to let his exploration unfold in a myriad of ways. For instance, the transparency of glass in the Glass Torch makes the flame in the torch appear floating. The viewers are lured first into the blazing fire and then to the crystal pole the bearer is holding, which almost mimics the surroundings with its reflective body.

Glancing at the design, the laboratory apparatus dropper or funnel may spring to mind. The Glass Torch’s stem is walled in two layers and may trick the eyes with its thick-like width. Rising up from the bottom, a third layer and its funnel structure begins the part that supports the flame of the torch. The burner follows, surrounded by a siphon-shaped enclosure that slopes down in an almost faultless form. Around the torch, no sharp edges are seen; just free-flowing curves that confer the torch a look of delicacy.

project info:

name: Glass Torch
designer: Tokujin Yoshioka
exhibition gallery: 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT Gallery 3
location: Midtown Garden, Tokyo Midtown, 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
dates: September 14th and November 5th, 2023

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▪ Source: designboom｜https://www.designboom.com/design/tokujin-yoshioka-glass-torch-japan-games-saga-2024-08-23-2023/

▪ Words: matthew burgos

▪ Photography Credit: © Tokujin Yoshioka

Tokujin Yoshioka crafts double-layered transparent glass torch for sports festival in japan