ELEPHOUNTAIN

Bologna Water Design 2013 – Ex Ospedale dei Bastardini, Bologna

In collaboration with: Lea Ceramiche.
Technical Partners: Luceplan.

This installation, conceived for the “Bologna Water Design” event aims to be a creative representation that brings together materials, nature and symbols based on the theme of water. The setting is a beautiful hall with vaults overlooking the sixteenth century cloister of the Ospedale dei Bastardini in Bologna. Elephountain is a large fountain/sculpture consisting of a tank (approx. 4.60x2x2m) inside which there is a vertical wall on the two faces of which 10 elephant heads made of glazed ceramic are fixed (5 on each side). Water flows out through the trunks of the elephants into the tank, representing the tradition in which, since ancient times, the source has been expressed in the form of wild animals, the best form of representation of the spirit of water. In the upper part of the wall, there is a strip of grass that is a sort of natural brush. The fountain is completely covered with slabs of Slimtech by Lea Ceramiche, in Shade milk colour, a colour that creates a delicate effect together with the water. A decoration consisting of small ton sur ton fragments is impressed on the Slimtech slabs using the innovative digital printing technique, for a “three-dimensional effect” that causes the surface to vibrate. The entire floor of the room is covered with a thin layer of sand to represent the origin of ceramic material. Luceplan fixtures light up the fountain and the panels with a few touches of warm light that highlight the quality of the materials in an almost theatrical atmosphere. As a whole, this installation may be a demonstration of how these new materials can represent new possibilities for a variety of applications, in this case, for a joyful, poetic creation.
Design by Cibicworkshop: Aldo Cibic and Tommaso Corà with Diego Lucchini.