jonathan ben-tovim

01.   Mystic Dolphin Torch

2026
Cast Aluminium, dichromatic acrylic, LED light source, rechargeable battery

  I’ve always been interested in the torch as both a practical object and a symbol, something used to move through darkness and into the unknown. The Dolphin Torch is a particularly simple and familiar version, the kind of cheap, functional object that was once kept around the house for blackouts but has become increasingly obsolete.

This work recreates the familiar form and adds a chromatic filter, shifting it away from pure utility and giving it a slightly strange, mystical quality.

02.   Blue Ladder Shelf

2026
Anodised Aluminium

Blue Ladder Shelf came from spending time on ladders while installing and testing lights, and noticing how simple and economical their construction is. I’ve always admired products that have been reduced to their most direct form, and a modern aluminium ladder feels like there is almost nothing left to take away.

The work uses a disassembled and re-anodised ladder with minimal intervention, turning an ordinary industrial object into a functional shelving unit with a subtle reference to the work of Ettore Sottsass.

03.   Maglamp (Table), Magggglamp (Floor)

2026
Maglite, Aluminium, Cast Resin

I first became interested in Maglite torches as a teenager, seeing them in American police and action films where they seemed heavy, serious and strangely theatrical. As LED technology became smaller and cheaper, the oversized metal torch gradually fell out of fashion, but I’ve always remained attracted to it as an object.

Maglamp exaggerates the familiar form into a table lamp and floor lamp, somewhere between a functional light and a movie prop, with a subtle reference to the expressive lighting of Ettore Sottsass.

04.   Bezzer Coffee Table & Shelf

2026
Marble, Glass

The Besser Coffee Table and Shelf came from memories of living in share houses and making improvised furniture from cheap, readily available materials. I once had a shelf made from Besser blocks in different colours, using architectural samples I had been given, and always liked the simple, accidental quality of it.

These works take that makeshift approach and make it more permanent and refined, while retaining the directness and simplicity of the original idea.