The Ellipse takes a large flat piece of aluminium that, when strung by a single cable, warps under the weight of its own expanse. It distils the massive trade relationship between Australia and Japan — stretching back over a century — into a single gesture.

The Ellipse Light continues Keiji Ashizawa’s poetic play with base materials, simple geometry and the work of gravity to create a sense of movement.

The seemingly weightless, durable and strong material is expressing the downward pressure on a system that sees Australia exporting raw materials and Japan returning complex manufactured goods; a habit this commission inverts by having it designed in Japan and manufactured in Australia.

Keiji’s work beautifully represents the ongoing refinement of the relationship between Japanese traditional Zen Buddhist design and Western Modernism.