Studio Swine launches living and breathing scientific sculpture at Eden Project
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter
Watch ∞ Blue (Infinity Blue) by Studio Swine in action at the Eden Project in Cornwall
In the heart of Cornwall at the Grimshaw Architects-designed Eden Project, the London-based multi-disciplinary creative duo Studio Swine – made up of Alexander Groves and Azusa Murakami – opens a new permanent installation on 25 May. ∞ Blue (Infinity Blue) is an 8.5m high ceramic sculpture containing 32 vortex cannons, programmed to exhale synchronised scented fog rings, inspired by the earth’s prehistoric atmosphere from five billion years ago to the modern age.
As part of a new permanent exhibition, ‘Invisible Worlds’, set within the Core educational building, the sculpture, which weighs in at 20 tonnes, is the result of the studio’s research into cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic bacteria identified as one of the first and smallest organisms on the planet to produce oxygen. The work becomes the living (and breathing) embodiment of that complex scientific thought.
‘We’re particularly interested in the typology of fountains, something we explored in our Cos installation New Spring at last year’s Salone del Mobile,’ says Murakami. ‘Especially how fountains celebrated the life-giving nature of water and the sculptural depiction of Roman gods and mythical sea creatures.’ Groves continues, ‘We were really interested in cyanobacteria, tiny ocean organisms that are invisible to the naked eye, but account for the largest biomass on our planet and creating 70 per cent of our earth’s atmosphere. Our piece Infinity Blue is a fountain for the atmosphere using fog instead of water to celebrate the air we breath.’
The steel-framed installation’s surface is clad in oxide glazed, deep blue clay ceramic tiles, its texture created from an algorithm inspired by reaction-diffusion systems found in creatures, such as zebras and coral. For the vapour rings, Paris-based fragrance and flavour specialist Givaudan has created a bespoke scent.
A signature component of a Studio Swine project is an accompanying film, which for this work has been co-directed by the studio and filmmaker Petr Krejčí. The film focuses on Murakami and Groves’ research in the sea close to the Cornish coast and will be released in June.
Scented fog rings erupt from Studio Swine’s sculpture.
INFORMATION
∞ Blue is commissioned by Future\Pace, a partnership between Pace Gallery and cultural placemaking agency Futurecity, which delivers multidisciplinary artistic projects in the urban landscape. For more information, visit the Eden Project website (opens in new tab), the Studio Swine website (opens in new tab) and the Future\Pace website (opens in new tab)
ADDRESS
Eden Project
Bodelva
Par PL24 2SG
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
Sabato De Sarno is appointed new creative director of Gucci
Italian designer Sabato De Sarno – formerly of Valentino – is the new creative director of Gucci, replacing Alessandro Michele who left the house last November
By Jack Moss • Published
-
Sotheby’s to auction Marie-Antoinette’s armchairs, amid other regal lots, in aid of French château
Sotheby’s Paris will auction works from the collection of interior designer Jacques Garcia in aid of Château du Champ de Bataille
By Martha Elliott • Published
-
Marco Campardo wins Design Museum’s emerging designer prize
The Design Museum, London, announces Marco Campardo as winner of The Ralph Saltzman Prize, an annual accolade to celebrate and support emerging designers
By Rosa Bertoli • Published
-
Ryoji Ikeda and Grönlund-Nisunen saturate Berlin gallery in sound, vision and visceral sensation
At Esther Schipper gallery Berlin, artists Ryoji Ikeda and Grönlund-Nisunen draw on the elemental forces of sound and light in a meditative and disorienting joint exhibition
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
London art exhibitions: a guide for early 2023
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, and those around the UK, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Harriet Lloyd Smith • Published
-
Cecilia Vicuña’s ‘Brain Forest Quipu’ wins Best Art Installation in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design Awards
Brain Forest Quipu, Cecilia Vicuña's Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern, has been crowned 'Best Art Installation' in the 2023 Wallpaper* Design Awards
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Michael Heizer’s Nevada ‘City’: the land art masterpiece that took 50 years to conceive
Michael Heizer’s City in the Nevada Desert (1972-2022) has been awarded ‘Best eighth wonder’ in the 2023 Wallpaper* design awards. We explore how this staggering example of land art came to be
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in flux
We interviewed French artist Cyprien Gaillard ahead of his major two-part show, ‘Humpty \ Dumpty’ at Palais de Tokyo and Lafayette Anticipations (until 8 January 2023). Through abandoned clocks, love locks and asbestos, he dissects the human obsession with structural restoration
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Cerith Wyn Evans: ‘I love nothing more than neon in direct sunlight. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful’
Cerith Wyn Evans reflects on his largest show in the UK to date, at Mostyn, Wales – a multisensory, neon-charged fantasia of mind, body and language
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
The best 7 Christmas installations in London for art lovers
As London decks its halls for the festive season, explore our pick of the best Christmas installations for the art-, design- and fashion-minded
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith • Published
-
Vanessa Beecroft’s ethereal performance and sculpture exhibition explore Sicily’s cultural history
At the historic Palazzo Abatellis, Sicily, Vanessa Beecroft has unveiled ‘VB94’, a new tableau vivant comprising a one-time performance and a new series of sculptures, the latter on view until 8 January
By Hili Perlson • Published