Kostas Lambridis applies the process of ‘Natural Selection’ in his fountain sculpture

Greek artist and designer Kostas Lambridis’ Natural Selection, on display within the 5VIE Design District in Milan, is a sculptural fountain that is layered with a series of annotated entities inspired by the city of Turin and the theme of ‘rooted flow.’ Lambridis, who resides and works in Athens, Greece, specialises in combining theoretical concepts with both traditional and improvised craftsmanship techniques. Each of his works is made up of a series of jumbled entities that are conjoined to conceal a deeper visceral idea or thought, hence, attracting many curious glances. Similarly, Natural Selection, a sculptural potpourri of a multitude of materials, sits in the courtyard of the 5VIE headquarters in Teatro Litta, during Milan Design Week 2024, urging myriad interpretations of the monumental piece.

The sculptural installation, visualised and made by Lambridis as part of the IN Residence Design Residency #2 in the city of Turin in 2021, bears the instinctive imprint of the Greek sculptural artist and designer that emerged in response to the theme of the residency—Rooted Flows. The residency, which works on an annual schedule, is curated by architects and designers Barbara Brondi and Marco Rainò and culminates with the creation of original art and design works and the publication of a monograph.

Lambridis’ Natural Selection, on view as part of the Milanese design week, is the result of his analysis of the two dichotomous terms of the residency’s theme Rooted Flows. The designer explored these terms through the simplified images of botanical roots and volumes of water in motion. A product of Lambridis’ intuitive process, the fountain is characterised by entities that are evocative of the four rivers in Turin, whilst also echoing the motif of the mystical spring associated with eternal youth, immortality and spiritual energy, in different traditions. Lambridis scanned the residence of Italian architect and designer Carlo Mollino as well as Turin’s natural landscape for inspiration, during the residency. An allusion to these observations can be found in his notes:

“Carlo Mollino is dead.
Po and Dora still flow down the Alps and gush life through the center of Torino.
Egyptian lilies emerge from the dark deep into the light of the surface.
Trees spread their roots like veins under stone-build palazzos and churches.
'Natural Selection' is a fountain and the water continuously circulates.
That’s how it goes.”

We established a dialogue with the Greek designer to further understand his inspiration and process for Natural Selection. Edited excerpts from the conversation are as follows:

Almas Sadique: What are some interactions or experiences during the residency that inspired the work?

Kostas Lambridis: The house of Carlo Mollino, the rivers that run through the city, the architecture of the different palazzos, the mystery that is present everywhere in the city, the dinners and conversations with Barbara, Marco and Linde, but also the specific moment that all this took place in the heart of the pandemic.

Almas: What was your initial idea for this project and how did it evolve once you started working on it? Did it turn out the way that you had initially imagined it?

Kostas: It is never clear to me where an idea comes from or when it starts. There are no eureka moments in my work and my imagination never gives form to things. The form comes more as a result than a goal and it is always influenced by the material employed for the task. I thought of a fountain that combines mountains and rivers, architectural elements, parts of the human body, the male and the female, life and death but above all the unity of all these and the circulation of what connects them. I think the final result is close to this initial description but the shape of things could have been much different if it was made in a different place and a different moment.

Almas: How long did it take for the complete work to materialise and how did you come up with the title Natural Selection?

Kostas: I was working on it for about a year. The theme of the residency was Rooted Flows and I started looking at botanical roots and the shape of rivers as visible from above. There is a pattern there, even though on a very different scale, and patterns like this occur often in nature. This is not by accident of course but because of the mechanism that dictates the shape of things so they can adapt to their environmental conditions and survive, or not. That mechanism is called natural selection and from a moment on I completely surrendered to its effects in the way of working and decision making, too. Some ideas were not strong enough to make it to the end of the project, yet some others kept going, being shaped by reality.

Almas: Tell us a little about the materials and making process of Natural Selection. What parts were crafted by hand?

Kostas: There are a lot of different materials on the fountain: ceramic tiles, cast glass, cast bronze, concrete, various stones, stainless steel, polyurethane, wood, acrylic resin, aluminium, brass etc. I don’t know anymore if there is a way to separate what is done by hand and what is not. We all depend on a huge industrial system that provides materials we can shape by hand only at the last step of the making like metal rods or sheets or even a bag of clay or concrete. But yes, we do everything in the studio and we don’t have any automated machines that shape things.

Almas: Would you say that the fountain is a metaphor for some extraneous entities, beyond its literal implication?

Kostas: During the making of the work there is no intention for symbolism. At the same time for me, the work grows beyond the concrete, the bronze and the water pumps. But every viewer has their own cultural references and their own personal stories and they might read the work in a different way. Where I see a water lily, someone can see a metaphor for death and someone else can see a kitsch ceramic flower. It is all welcome and valid.

Almas: What would you say is an ideal place to set up Natural Selection?

Kostas: I would be happy if the fountain finds a peaceful place that is accessible to the public. Returning to Torino would be a dream.

Kostas Lambridis’ ‘Natural Selection’ is on view from April 15 - 21, 2024, at 5VIE Headquarters, in Teatro Litta, Corso Magenta 24, Milan, Italy.