ACANTHUS
Material: Steel
Dimensions: 255 × 240 × 153 cm.
2025
BA Final Project 2025
Thorns pierce the tender surface of vulnerability - yet they are a defense shaped by instinct.
Woven deep within body and mind, vulnerability and protection are not opposites, but mirrored states.
The form does not conceal - it responds. It shields, moves with the body, pulsates, breathes.
Thorns twist inward, their sharpness softened by the memory of touch.
Acantha becomes a space where pain takes shape, and protection rises from endurance.
Where does exposure end - and defense begin?
‘According to myths from late, Hellenistic, ancient Greek mythology, Acantha was a nymph loved by Apollo. He tried to abduct her, but she rejected him, scratching his face with her nails. As punishment, the god transformed her into a thorny plant. Since then, the nymph Acantha has been seen as a symbol of life overcoming suffering and an allegory of protected femininity and resilience.’
