The Embassy of Switzerland was adorned with a surreal spectacle on Friday as Swiss floral artist Philipp Von Arx brought his imaginative concept of “flower clouds” to life at the Swiss Art Night: SwitzerlandIndia in Bloom event. This unique display celebrated the 75 years of camaraderie and cooperation between India and Switzerland.
Months of anticipation culminated in the unveiling of Von Arx’s whimsical creations. These “clouds” suspended from bamboo frames were crafted from an array of vibrant flowers, including carnations, anthuriums, heliconias, gladioli, and marigolds of varying colors, shapes, and sizes sourced from across India. The addition of Monstera, date, and palm leaves lent a touch of greenery and a dash of eccentricity to these captivating installations. Observers likened the flower clouds to giant floral fish or porcupines, reminiscent of the childhood joy of discovering shapes in the clouds. Von Arx emphasized that this was not realism but pure fantasy.
A deep-rooted love for flowers runs in Von Arx’s family, who have been involved in the flower business since the 1800s. “I have flowers in my blood,” he confessed, recalling his childhood days of crafting and selling bouquets on the streets of Zurich.
While this was not Von Arx’s first venture into the world of floral clouds, it marked the first time he experimented with new and diverse flowers. He noted the novelty of marigolds, abundant in India but a rare find in Switzerland. Over 300 kilos of marigolds, totaling around 30,000 blooms, were used for this installation.
An essential aspect of the project is its sustainability. After the event, HelpUsGreen, a Kanpur-based social enterprise, will repurpose the displayed flowers into essential oils and incense. Nebuliser sprinklers discreetly positioned inside the cloud structures not only maintain the flowers’ freshness with a gentle mist but also create an ethereal atmosphere with their shimmering sprays of water under the pink lighting.
Von Arx’s work reflects a sense of movement and fluidity, combining Indian flowers with Swiss design. Unlike traditional symmetrical Indian floral arrangements, his designs embrace a freestyle approach. The collaboration with Indian floral artists Shreeram Kulkarni and Adarsh Suresh, along with bamboo artist Sagar Singh, successfully fuses the essence of India with Swiss creativity.
The result is a vibrant transformation of the Swiss Embassy into a tropical paradise, with the installations standing out against its minimalist architecture and white walls. Von Arx explained that the organic nature of flowers makes it impossible to replicate his designs elsewhere. Their sizes and shapes inherently vary from time to time and place to place.
A well-traveled artist, Von Arx has held floral expositions and seminars worldwide, absorbing elements from different cultures to infuse into his art. His unique language of flowers, as he describes it, is one that transcends borders and speaks to people from all walks of life.
