Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern
Greek designer Yiannis Ghikas has created a 3D-printed vase with a ribbed surface decoration inspired by science fiction special effects that show creatures moving under a person's skin.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_2.jpg)
Starting with the outline of an archetypal vase, Athens-based designer Ghikas added a three-dimensional decoration to one side to create the impression of something pushing through the surface from inside.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_1.jpg)
"I was always impressed while watching science fiction movies when a foreign organism or a parasite was moving underneath the skin of a human being, altering its smooth surface with its own form," said Ghikas.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_4.jpg)
The use of 3D printing enabled the designer to create a shape that transitions from a smooth to a ribbed surface.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_6.jpg)
Ghikas added that the shape also references the metallic blades that emerge from beneath the skin on the hands of comic book character Wolverine.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_7.jpg)
"I wanted to incorporate these striking movie images discreetly in this specific object, adding a 'mutation' that gradually appears and disappears and aesthetically disturbs its smooth surface," the designer explained.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_8.jpg)
The ridges increase in depth towards the middle of the vase, enhancing the sense of its surface being stretched from within.
![Mutant vase by Yiannis Ghikas has a sci-fi surface pattern](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/03/Mutant-Vase-by-Yiannis-Ghikas_dezeen_9.jpg)
The vase is printed from ABS plastic by 3D printing firm Shapeways.
Photography is by Giorgos Vitsaropoulos.