Ludmilla is a series of mouth-blown crystal vases realized as result of the residency at Hollenegg Castle in Austria, for the program “Schloss Hollenegg for Design”.

The inspiration for the project has been the account of “grandma Ludmilla” (Ludmilla Lobkowicz, b.1908 -d.1974 ), grandmother of the current owners of the castle, remembered by all family members as a very keen gardener. Very fond of flowers, she personally cultivated them in the castle’s garden to later arrange them in colorful and rich compositions in many of the premise rooms.

The project aims at reinforcing the relation between the house and the garden and at introducing in a more contemporary way the colorful and scented presence of fresh flowers in the castle’s rooms.

Resembling in their shapes some of the antique Chinese vases already at Hollenegg, each vase of the Ludmilla serie is composed of two overlapping parts. The narrow inner part host the bulb. The larger outer vase instead, once filled with water, acts as a natural magnifying vessel, drawing the viewer’s attention to other parts of the plant other than the flower.
Hosting the whole bulb instead of the sole cut flower, the project questions the general notion of which part of a plant is to be displayed. Is beauty to be found just in the climax of the bloom? Or is it the whole plant development, from the initial roots growth to the final decay, to deserve the viewer’s interest and admiration?

In an endless living cycle, each bulb, after its seasonal decay, could be planted in the garden, where it will grow and propagate with offspring bulbs to be taken indoor in the following season.

Residency and exhibition curator: Alice Stori Liechtenstein