Echoes have shape and form. They embody both repetition and uniqueness. Each is a manifesto of process – a continuation of constant exploration and experimentation with the potential of metal.
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These echoes were born from the Whispers in London – an installation that, as it turns out, resonates far and wide. During the performative deformation of the main sculpture on Ludgate Hill, Oskar Zięta unveiled the first two Echoes – alternative articulations of the same form, the same process.
Echo one follows a linear narrative. It is Whispers rendered anew. The same volume of material, the same internal pressure – only the location of the inflation point has shifted. In FiDU technology, even the smallest change can produce a radically different outcome. A whisper becomes a shout. A cubic block becomes a circle. This Echo reveals the tension between control and unpredictability in the deformation process, highlighting the technological and aesthetic nuances within the metal.
Echo two is axial – a spiralling form, a whisper transformed into a mirrored jewel. Modest in scale, the circular form shares the same internal logic as the parent Whisper. It could have been a block, but it isn’t. It is a deformation made to be admired vertically. Smaller in scale, it engages the senses differently, inviting contemplation rather than interaction.
Echo three introduces functionality. Combined with a handcrafted glass top, it becomes a massive yet "lightweight" base for Zięta’s provocative table design. It juxtaposes polished steel with a transparent surface, first showcased alongside the sculptural table base Steel in Rotation in Milan in 2025.
Third Echo extends the architectural narrative first presented in London’s Fleet Street Quarter during the London Festival of Architecture, giving it a functional dimension. It brings the spirit of a public installation into private space – a third echo of a whisper, ready to be inhabited.
All Whispers and Echoes stem from the ongoing exploration of the Harmonica concept – a process made possible by Zięta’s “new method of addition.” The result of research and development, this approach has expanded Zięta’s design vocabulary with the notion of function volumetricization.
This transformation unfolded in both artistic and arithmetic dimensions – as air, quite literally, was squared in the function defining the production process. A process made visible in sculptural objects like Whispers and its Echoes – and in functional pieces such as Harmonica tables and lamps.
Photo: Jakub Musialski, Kacper Miodek
Photo: Jakub Musialski, Kacper Miodek
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