Designer Ini Archibong is known for combining exquisite materials and impeccable craftsmanship, and the Switch table represents one of his earliest designs. He envisioned a coffee table inspired by the lowriders he saw on cruise nights in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles. The table appears to be in motion, like a lowrider with three wheels touching the ground and the fourth rising in the air. The table’s name derives from the practice of “hitting switches,” where drivers activate the hydraulic system to make the car bounce. Through the Switch table, Archibong celebrates lowrider culture, translating the subversive act of occupying city streets with flamboyant cars into a static object that appears to be in continual motion. For the mesmerizing tabletop, Archibong worked with famed motorcycle and helmet painter Casey Johnson to produce the complex crystalline surface. The asymmetrical base and rich, mutable surface color give the sense of perpetual motion and reflect Archibong’s interest in visual perception of color and light.
Archibong grew up in Pasadena, California, in an immigrant Nigerian family. After studying design at ArtCenter College of Design in his hometown, he pursued a Master’s of Design in Luxury and Craftsmanship at École Cantonale d’Art de Lausanne (ECAL). While he now lives in Switzerland and works with luxury design firms in Western Europe, he continues to draw inspiration from early influences in Southern California: the Light and Space movement, lowriding, and sunsets over the Pacific.
Bobbye Tigerman
2024
