interview: nassia inglessis' pyramid sculpture merges human and elemental at forever is now

Liquid solid looks to ancient egypt to imagine future monuments

As the fourth edition of Forever Is Now turns the Giza Plateau into an open-air museum, Liquid Solid by Nassia Inglessis of Studio INI looks to Egypt’s ancient past to envision a monument of the future. Echoing its backdrop of Cairo’s pyramids, the installation’s wiry translucent form that transforms sand into a ‘liquid solid’ encourages viewers to consider the intricate balance between the human, technological, and elemental.‘In my practice we look at the application of technology to form experiments towards physical environments, experiences, and prototypes of behavior that keep us plugged into our physical world on earth and beyond,’ Inglessis tells designboom.

The sculpture becomes activated only by physical interaction, speaking to humanity’s capacity for resilience and adaptability within an evolving landscape. Drawing from her Greek heritage and the architectural heritage of Ancient Egypt, Inglessis melds native materials like sand with advanced components, including NASA-inspired aluminum honeycomb, to express themes of impermanence, heritage, and the future. ‘My works never define or prescribe a finished or crystallized form,’ she explains. ‘They are only complete when the human is in interaction with them.’

With this approach, her sculpture seeks to connect, engage, and transform, echoing curator Nadine Abdel Ghaffar’s views on art’s power ‘as a tool for exploration and discovery.’ ‘Just as archaeologists unearth layers of history, our artists are uncovering new interpretations of the past through their contemporary works,’ she shared with designboom during our previous interview. Through her work, then, Inglessis urges visitors to rediscover their connection to nature and history, challenging them to view themselves as integral parts of the landscape — a reminder of humanity’s role in shaping and responding to an ever-changing world. Forever Is Now 04 will run from October 24th to November 16th, 2024.

all images courtesy of Forever Is Now

interview with nassia inglessis of studio INI

designboom (DB): Your works often explore the relationship between the human, the technological, and the elemental. Could you elaborate on this approach?

Nassia Inglessis (NI): In my view, sustained existence requires for the three to coexist and to inform each other. Technology removed from the human or the elemental that constructs our physical reality can only lead to a dark and dystopian ending. This is why in my practice we look at the application of technology to form experiments towards physical environments, experiences, and prototypes of behavior that keep us plugged into our physical world on earth and beyond. I co-opt technology and automation to craft matter and structure so as to create new platforms of material logic and seamless physical connections between the human and the elements of nature’s ecosystem that we exist in.

DB: Your sculpture at Forever Is Now 04 invites us to physically engage with it. What is the significance of this interaction?

NI: My works never define or prescribe a finished or crystallized form, rather they take form from the human element within. They are only complete when the human is in interaction with them, as an individual and as a collective. The sculpture can hence exist in many forms, the result of many selves in the collective behavior and an expression of them all.

Liquid Solid by Nassia Inglessis of Studio INI

DB: The idea of ‘liquid solidity’ is an intriguing one. How do you envision this kind of duality and how does it speak to the history and future of the Giza Plateau?

NI: Liquid solidity speaks towards the granular nature of matter that allows it to engage in adaptable formations that are responsive to their context.

Archeological studies already reveal the evolution of the plateau’s landscape giving evidence to the use of water from Nile river branches that were adjacent to the Pyramids to allow for tonnes of stone to be transported.

Desertification is one of the many phenomena we will experience and the monument to humanity in the era of the climate changes to come will lie in in the ephemeral and the capacity to adapt as we rediscover our role in nature, even beyond earth. The Pyramids will stand as a permanent symbol of resilience and capacity for eternity, yet the monument to humanity and its timeless resilience exists in its ability to respond to the impermanence of its continuously evolving context, from past to future.

a wiry translucent form

DB: How did the setting of the Giza Pyramids influence the materials and methods you chose for this project? Did you face any particular challenges in adapting your usual interactive approach to this historical location?

NI: I was inspired by the architecture of living of the Ancient Egyptians in a porous membrane between the natural and supernatural. In this architecture they understood their existence as an integral part of nature and a critical element in the balance of the universe to defy the boundaries of human endeavour and transform their world at a monumental scale and with eternal relevance. An architecture of living that inspired a quest for eternity. In my sculpture I combine the native elements of sand with elements used in NASA’s Voyagers, such as aluminum honeycomb, sculpting in this an encounter of the past, present, and the future in humanity’s ancient quest for immortality and desire to transcend time. As the Pyramids, Nasa’s Voyagers are continuing their journey in eternity carrying humanity’s wish for immortality.

viewers are urged to consider the balance between the human, technological, and elemental

NI: In its detail, I was drawn by the sophistication of the early technological advancements of the Ancient Egyptians and how they manifest in the pyramids. I was drawn to the theory that suggests the use of wet and fine sand to reduce friction, slide and shift tonnes of stone into perfect geometry of monumental scale that gave the Pyramids their form. Using sand in this manner as a liquid solid.

Of course there are challenges in the interaction in an open landscape. But these are challenges that I welcome as I seek to remove any curation, definition, or prescription in the human interaction with my work. I seek to allow the public to behave by intuition that stems from what their body and mind is drawn to, and not by guidance or prompt.

DB: How does your Greek heritage inform your vision of the ancient and the future?

NI: I have a deep appreciation for the wisdom that has been. The Ancient Greeks were already in awe of the Pyramids of Giza and studied its technology and the intelligence in its construction. There is wisdom in the technology — in its etymological sense of art (τέχνη/ techni) and science (λογία/ logia) — form the ancient civilizations that can form meaningful tools in how we shape and architect our future when harnessed under the right technological context and motivation.

the sculpture becomes activated only by physical interaction