Fleurop - Interflora World Cup Berlin - Day 1 Ahti Lyra

With a russian history we do not have such an issue with these kind of assignments :) It did not take a lot of time to get my inspiration and the elements and flowers were perfect to use. I really enjoyed this assignment and I am very happy with the result.

As a guy born in a Nordic country I like the cold, snow, ice and clarity of thought and of structure, focus on the essence. I see myself as rational and reserved, but sometimes also enigmatic. I strongly identify with my home country Estonia and I am proud that it is now wonderfully blossoming again after long decades of occupation. If you have personally been through the experience of growing up in an oppressive dictatorship, which is what the Soviet Union was, you learn three things: freedom must begin in your own head; secondly, you must have a firm belief in the future and a vision of what that future will look like; and thirdly, you must be willing to take a risk if you want to succeed. This is what will typically be reflected in my design also.

My objective was to create a long-lasting, permanent “ice sculpture” – a tribute to the North, you could say. After long research and experiments with different types of waxes I finally decided to use acrylic. I created a special technique to make a plain see-through material that is more similar to the natural ice on lakes. Believe you me, acrylic did act like ice - shrinking and cracking just when I wanted to create large panels; but with the help of dental silicone, Styrofoam and pressure I managed to eventually handle the material. In order to add flowers, I decided to make tubes from polymethyl methacrylate (Plexiglas), heating them up to give them the shape of icicle. The flower selection is inspired by the Nordic nature. Small, white, wild-looking flowers, vines and different shades of green and grey leaves remind the viewer that tender plants and flowers are growing underneath untouched forests just after the snow melts.

The testing and experimenting with different materials I started just after Christmas and work on the actual framework began at the end of February. It took 3 months to get the result. It is a very long process of waiting, waiting and more waiting.

Having studied theology at University, I could probably write a 10 page essay about personal freedom, but I will try to cut it short.  Freedom means three things to me, and these are the guiding principles that you will see throughout my work.

First, freedom is the freedom to pursue my own vision of the good life, the freedom to set my own principles, to unfold my own creativity, to set my own standards, to live my own dream. More simply, you could say it is the absence of the repressive regime under which I grew up, both in a personal but also in a professional sense.

Second, it is freedom from need. It encompasses the ability to live a sustainable lifestyle beyond mere subsistence based on your own hard work and determination. Creativity, and that specifically includes floristry, needs an environment when human beings can actually follow pursuits of pleasure, no matter how small. Simply, it means absence of scarcity.

Thirdly, it is the sense of freedom in your mind. Much like the concept of “peace of mind”, there is also a sense of “freedom of mind” – if you do not perceive yourself as living a free life, if you create yourself borders in your mind, then you cannot unfold your potential, your skills and creativity. You could say, this is the absence of fear.