‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River’s Song’ installation by Sara Ricciardi – All photos are by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

Design. In the former stables, Cavallerizze, at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology, 5VIE design district presents The Chrysalis Knows The River’s Song by Italian designer Sara Ricciardi. Inspired by the extraordinary transformation from caterpillar to butterfly, the interactive installation invites visitors to listen to their bodies, move, and embrace metamorphosis. Until April 13, 10.00-19.00, via Olona 4 [Map].

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

A corset-like architecture encases vibrant drapery resembling butterfly wings. As visitors walk through it, they can tilt an hourglass made up of brass tubes filled with sand, generating the soothing sound of flowing water. This installation is complemented by additional smaller, similar structures.

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

“I have always been fascinated by the caterpillar’s metamorphosis process.” Sara Ricciardi told Archipanic. “The Chrysalis Knows The River’s Song aims to capture such a magical moment of rebirth. Water, an amniotic liquid of transformation, is the other element of the installation.” The showcase conveys a deeper reflection on our daily lives. “We need to open the cage we all live and fly free from it, like a butterfly.”

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

In today’s hectic lifestyle, time is precious; we don’t value enough the act of waiting. We want to have everything right away without the patience to let things sediment and ripen. How do you relate to this condition as a designer? “When a client asks me how I came up with a concept, I say that that idea has been brewing for all my life. Because what I create is imbued by my past experience and personal growth. It takes nine months to be born. Nature has its times. Still, urban life pushes us to evade and speed up, but, in the end, to truly feel ourselves, we need time to evolve. We must wait in our cocoon to become a butterfly.”

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The cage recalls the corsets, bustiers and girdles used for women’s dresses in the past. The colour palette is very feminine as well. “My work is always been inspired by the female body,” continues Sara Ricciardi. “After all, clothing and fashion can often become a cage, a shaping medium we put on to define ourselves in public. When you decide to wear a dress, you ‘process’ something about yourself, whether you know it or not. We all need those cages, our cocoons, to shapeshift like a caterpillar.”

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

The Chrysalis Knows The River’s Song was created in collaboration with Antica Fabbrica Passamaneria Massia 1843, a historic textile company from Turin, and the Milanese handcrafting metal atelier Silver Tre, while CGR provided the carpets.

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.

All photos are by Amir Farzad, courtesy of 5VIE.

‘The Chrysalis Knows The River's Song’ by Sara Ricciardi - Photo by Amir Farzad, courtesy 5VIE.