Crystal Sequence

This sequence of crystals makes you want to play with it, imagine with it, and think about it. The idea behind the work is a river of crystals, and the title of the work is Crystal Sequence.

Architect Avgi Kalantidou invited me to participate in a sculpture competition for an outdoor environment at a water purification station in Paris. The question was whether we could convey the concept of clean water and how we give water a future.

Through my research, I discovered that clean water forms purely geometric shapes, and that a snowflake in particular has purely geometric shapes in cubic form. I was very drawn to this because what I wanted to convey in the work is the purity, the clarity, and the brilliance of clean water. So here we can see that when water is clean, it has such pure shapes. When water is contaminated, as I have seen in other studies, the shapes are neither pure, nor geometric, nor symmetrical.

This gave me the impetus to create my work using cubes, which would then form a river that would give the impression of a river of crystals. We made the cubes from stainless steel mirrors so that they would reflect the surroundings — the green of the earth and the sky — and symbolize the restoration of nature.

I felt it was necessary, as I wanted to aesthetically cover a large area, to express myself with the help of the land — in other words, to create a land art piece. Next to the work there is a river, the well-known Seine. Here is all of Paris.

The project had begun in 2014, was created in Greece, gradually transported to Paris, and was finally installed in 2017. The architects created a large surface that covered most of the station’s factory buildings. My brief was to work on top of this architectural project, so I spread the sculpture across the ground — it extends 70 meters along the surface that, as I mentioned, covers the entire factory.

My first impression is that it is wonderful. I am very happy; many years have passed. The time and the moment have come, and I am extremely happy that they gave me the opportunity to create this work in such a beautiful place, one that I believe truly suits it. The honor they gave me, I have returned with my work, and I believe it is worthy — I believe they will enjoy it.

It disappears into nature. What dominates the scene is the earth and the sky, full of sky. It constantly changes shape, changes volume, almost has no volume at all. As the viewer moves around it, they become a creator — their movement is creative. And that was precisely the purpose: in a spirit of playfulness, a kind of game, to convey through this symbolism the company’s message about the purity of water and its commitment to the environment.