Watch Studio Drift swarm NASA Apollo 11 50th anniversary with drone installation
At the Kennedy Space Center on 16 July, Studio Drift’s lyrical Franchise Freedom contemplated the future of innovation
Watch the Franchise Freedom performance by Studio Drift at the NASA Rocket Garden. Videography: courtesy of Studio Drift. Photography: Ossip van Duivenbode
‘We hope there is more intelligent life out there. Our technology will hopefully create the connection towards this.’ Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of Studio Drift share their musings about life on Mars (and general outer space) with us. It’s hard to think it has been 50 years since Apollo 11 landed on the moon. Such a trailblazing moment in the world’s history can only be celebrated in true future-thinking fashion – an excuse to ponder on revolutionary ideas in the next semi-centennial. The Amsterdam-based visionaries have been called upon by NASA to perform Franchise Freedom, an installation that has an otherworldly and mesmeric energy of its own.
Three hundred luminous Intel drones floated above the NASA Rocket Garden on 16 July, reflecting the flocking of starlings, a graceful movement generated by computer algorithms. While illuminating the sky and saluting our connection with space, the artwork is a catalyst for important conversations about life on earth too. ‘The work explores the structures of nature and humanity to challenge the current culture and to move forward for the benefit of mankind’. Franchise Freedom’s experiential presence has captivated audiences at Burning Man and Design Miami previously, and its role at the Kennedy Space Center, the epicentre of innovation, is the start of a global tour that will continue to forge connections, immerse audiences and ignite even more dialogue.
Apollo 11’s epic undertaking in 1969 allows us to look back on how this instant moulded the past 50 years. ‘It was not only about the first steps on the moon, but also a moment where we realised what technology can do for mankind; a moment where we collectively contemplated our life on earth. Franchise Freedom embodies this combination of technological innovation and our consciousness,’ the duo explain. The swarming, ethereal sculpture – a hybrid of technology and art – will be accompanied by a performance from band Duran Duran, and more cosmically, a full moon.
As artists and experimenters, Studio Drift continue to unlock more possibilities for the future of design, and their spellbinding offerings are just the tip of the iceberg – ‘it is our responsibility to use technology to build a sustainable future,’ they comment. ‘Humans are inseparably connected with technology, we’re just not using it in the right way yet
INFORMATION
Franchise Freedom, 16 July, Kennedy Space Center. kennedyspacecenter.com
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.
-
Hong Kong brutalism explored: tour the island with this new architectural map
Hong Kong brutalism is brought into sharp focus through the launch of Brutalist Hong Kong Map, the latest of its kind in publisher Blue Crow Media’s 20th-century architecture series
By Yoko Choy Published
-
Diego Faivre’s playful homage to Australia's vanishing milk bar
Diego Faivre uses Play-Doh to recreate an Australian milk bar in an exhibition titled ‘Diego Super Bonza Store’ at Melbourne’s Useful Objects gallery
By Elias Redstone Published
-
Ndayé Kouagou speaks the language of the chaotic social media influencer in London
Ndayé Kouagou celebrates meandering incoherence with an exhibition, ‘A Message for Everybody’, at Gathering in London
By Phin Jennings Published
-
Prostoria celebrates its modernist roots and a decade of design
‘Prostoria 10’ is a project marking the Croatian furniture brand’s ten years and its connection with Zagreb’s rich modernist architectural legacy
By Simon Mills Last updated
-
The world’s oldest opera gains a space-age stage intervention
Kinetic sculpture 'Ego' – designed by Lonneke Gordijn of Studio Drift – moves with the performance in a minimal and modern manifestation of the world’s oldest-known opera, L’Orfeo
By Yoko Choy Published
-
Lego enlists Camille Walala for interactive shipping container in London
In celebration of Lego’s new 2D play concept, the Lego Dot, Camille Walala creates an interactive shipping-container installation in King’s Cross, using over two million lego bricks
By Katie Meston Published
-
In Miami, Perrier-Jouët presents a cave of ceramics
11,000 ceramics in four different shades and 15 different hues make up Metamorphosis, an installation by Andrea Mancuso for Maison Perrier-Jouët at Design Miami
By Sujata Burman Last updated
-
Sculpting iridescent forms with Vincenzo De Cotiis
At Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris, ‘Éternel’ showcases 18 new forms by Vincenzo De Cotiis
By Benoit Loiseau Last updated
-
Dutch Design Week 2019 captures the zeitgeist
What to expect from the 18th year of Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, from social design to sustainable innovations
By Giovanna Dunmall Last updated
-
Decoding the creative process at Mini’s A/D/O space in New York
Universal Design Studio realises an ever-evolving installation titled ‘On Loop’ inside the Brooklyn spot
By Pei-Ru Keh Last updated
-
Dan Tobin Smith takes visitors on an immersive journey inside gemstones
For London Design Festival, the photographer, together with The Experience Machine and Gemfields, creates an animation of gemstone inclusions inside Collins Music Hall
By Tom Seymour Last updated