Studio DRIFT lit up a palace along the Venetian waterways for the 61st Venice Biennale. The site-specific installation, titled Shy Society, suspended five kinetic elements from the Palazzo Balbi, a historic building from the 16th century. The structures danced on the facade as part of their explorations on rhythm and light. The delicate yet hypnotic spectacle confirmed the many creative possibilities of lighting as an art medium.
The Dutch creative team describes this project as “a choreography of light and movement.” This particular installation mimics flowers opening in the morning and closing at night, a circadian rhythm-based movement known as nyctinasty that protects a plant’s reproductive parts from cold or dew. For this new piece, elements of water, wind, and a bustling city join the conversation, also informing their behavior.
The ephemeral work featured sculptural robotic flowers made of aluminum, polished stainless steel, silk, and LED lights. It then came to life with the custom algorithm developed by DRIFT to integrate their observations of nature into their projects. The algorithm allowed these “light flowers” to rise, align, and synchronize, following a meticulous choreography that resembles the rhythm of a human’s resting heartbeat.
Shy Society is closely connected to Shylight, another kinetic light installation by DRIFT that explores how we adapt to our surroundings and evolve over time. This achievement comes after five years of research devoted to determining how to translate organic movement to something that can create an engaging, interactive experience with a crowd and the building of choice. “Shylight is the result to the question ‘how an inanimate object can mimic those changes that express character and emotions?’” writes DRIFT.
Shy Society was on view at Venice’s Canal Grande between May 3 and May 10, marking yet another hit for DRIFT in a landmark year for the studio. In 2026, the Dutch duo will open its own museum in Amsterdam, turning it into a home for their large-scale immersive works. To stay up to date with them, you can follow Studio DRIFT on Instagram.
Studio DRIFT lit up a palace for the 61st Venice Biennale.
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The site-specific installation, titled Shy Society, suspended five kinetic elements from the Palazzo Balbi, a historic building from the 16th century.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
