Lyra Greek Restaurant Jesmonite Tiles
A commission to create a floral Jesmonite relief tile to wrap around the interior of Amriya Group's new restaurant, Lyra. Lyra is a luxury Greek seafood restaurant based in Bahrain on the shore of Marassi Beach. The brand is based on the myth of Orpheus, a legendary musician in Greek Mythology whose music could coax flowers and rocks into dance.
The tile pattern showcases a botanical composition centred around the lyre, linking to the story of Orpheus. The tiles are repeatable to create a continuous patterned frieze tile around the interior of the restaurant, giving a touch of artistic detail and elegance to the space. The low mood lighting creates shadows in the carvings and ripples of the Jesmonite, which allows the florals to have depth and movement, as though they are dancing around the lyre.
Design concept
The project consist of two landscape repeatable tiles with the lyre shape being the main focus of the pattern. Intricate florals are intertwined and growing from the lyre, giving the illusion of dancing flowers flowing to music, inspired by the Orpheus myth.
The key flowers on the left tile are Violets, which were said to have blossomed wherever Orpheus laid his lyre. Haberlea is also shown as this is known as Orpheus' flower, and was said to have been created from Orpheus' tears.
The tile on the right showcases White Asphodels, a flower associated with the Greek underworld, which was a major part or Orpheus' journey in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Lastly, the Madonna Lily is included as lillies are said to symbolise Persephone, the wife of Hades.
Design Process
The process consisted of pencil sketches to determine the composition and flow of the lyre and botanicals. This was then followed by flat vector colour in shades of purple to show which areas would be set back and which would overlap in the foreground, allowing the Jesmonite frieze tile to be created from the designs.
