15. Jun Exhibition + Performance
Curators
Alex Rhodes, Cara Mills, Alanna Mercado Joanna PughExibition design
Design Motion, Eleven ProPartners
Limp Fishing Rod, Hotel Thunder Feet, Fourdust Chewyknot
Choreography of Light and Motion
The Dutch artist duo Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of DRIFT have once again transformed the boundaries of immersive art with Drift Us, their latest kinetic installation for Milan Design Week. After a decade-long hiatus from the event, their return marks a watershed moment in experiential design—a hypnotic dialogue between nature’s randomness and algorithmic precision.
An Organic Symphony of Light and Movement
Housed in the serene Renaissance courtyard of Portrait Milano Hotel, Drift Us conjures an alien yet familiar ecosystem: hundreds of luminous, stem-like bulbs sway in delicate unison, their motions triggered by visitors’ footsteps and subtle air currents. Each bulb—crafted from translucent polymer—pulses with soft bioluminescent glow, evoking dandelion seeds caught in a breeze or deep-sea organisms responding to invisible tides.
The magic lies in its “engineered imbalance”:
- 3 custom counterweights inside each bulb create erratic, lifelike motion
- Proximity sensors allow the field to “breathe” around human presence
- In-house developed robotics synchronize chaos into fluid waves
“We don’t simulate nature—we create new laws of physics that feel organic,” Nauta explains during the April 18th vernissage, where guests became inadvertent conductors of this light orchestra.
The Technology Beneath the Poetry
A collaboration with Audi’s House of Progress, the installation exemplifies DRIFT’s ethos of “hyper-natural” design:
- 100% custom circuitry: From PCB boards to weighted brass pendulums
- Machine learning algorithms: Adapting sway patterns to crowd density
- Sustainable energy use: Solar-charged batteries power the 3-week exhibition
Notably, the bulbs’ stems utilize a shape-memory alloy originally developed for automotive suspensions—a nod to Audi’s engineering legacy. “The materials remember their resting position like grass after footsteps,” Gordijn reveals during a Designboom interview.
DRIFT’s Evolution: From Fragile Future to Collective Experience
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DRIFT’s Evolution: From Fragile Future to Collective Experience
Drift Us builds on DRIFT’s decade-long exploration of “fragile futurism”:
- 2015’s Shylight (Dutch National Ballet): Silk sculptures mimicking nyctinastic plants
- 2021’s Franchise Freedom (Art Basel): 300 drone-swarming “starlings”
- 2023’s Materialism (Tank Shanghai): Deconstructed consumer goods in motion
This latest work, however, introduces participatory ecology—where human presence literally shapes the environment. “It’s not about observing nature’s beauty, but becoming part of its system,” says curator Maria Cristina Didero during the April 20th panel discussion.
The installation has sparked dialogue beyond design circles:
- #DriftUs garnered 2.3M TikTok views in 72 hours
- Neuroscience researchers praise its “ASMR-like calming effect”
- Climate activists highlight its 0-waste construction
A poignant moment occurred on April 22nd when flocking sparrows began nesting among the bulbs—an unplanned collaboration between DRIFT’s tech and Milan’s wildlife.
How to Contact Us
For inquiries about the exhibition, press requests, or educational group bookings, please reach out to our team:
+33 1 23 45 67 89
Museum of Digital Arts (MODA), 42 Rue du Futur, 75013 Paris
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