Water: Q&A with Ola Mirecka

Inspired by the calming nature of running water, Ola Mirecka's new project Fontanna combines handmade ceramics with electronics to create an interactive water fountain. At upcoming aquatic-themed show Water, which opens at Peckham’s Copeland Gallery during LDF, visitors can give Fontanna a test drive, using the calming stream to quiet festival-weary brains.

Whether it’s Space Odyssey-style corridors or rows of Google servers so large our brains don’t compute, when we picture technology it’s often clinical, robotic, un-human. But Polish-born, Denmark-based designer Ola Mirecka is trying to change all that.

Using similar technology to Sensitive Dog, Fontanna combines two of Ola’s new interests – the aforementioned electronics and Ancient Greek ceramics. Ahead of Water, which opens on 19 September, we caught up with this inventive designer to find out more about how Fontanna works and what it is about fountains that’s made her imagination flow.

Tell us a little bit about your project for Water.

Fontanna is an interactive fountain made from ceramic and electronic elements, which allows the user to play with water, relax and enjoy its calming sound. The fountain reacts to human touch using a capacitive sensor that controls the water pump. Touch activates the pumps and motors and changes way the water flows. The electronics are hidden behind the ceramics so you don’t see them at first. I want to create a surprising effect, using the contrast between the rough material and the new technologies.

What is the inspiration behind Fontanna?

With my piece, I want to explore the motion of water and how users interact with it. Fountains originally were purely functional objects, used as a part of Ancient Greek aqueduct systems for delivering drinking water. Nowadays fountains are a sign of luxury. Throughout history have been used for decoration, to celebrate their builders, represent heroic scenes or create miniature versions of the garden of paradise. The sound of falling water is relaxing and calming. Looking at falling water relaxes your eyes in the same way as looking at fire.

How does Fontanna relate to other projects you’ve worked on?

Like most of my work, Fontanna explores the idea of turning my drawing and illustration language into real 3D objects. It has a handmade feel and hand-illustrated style. Recently I have been working on a series of red and black ceramic vases that explore the aesthetics of Ancient Greece but are illustrated with stories from modern life. Simultaneously I have been developing my skills in designing electronics and programming so that I can apply motion and interaction to objects. Fontanna is a combination of these two aspects.