As part of Opposites United: Eclipse of Perceptions, A.A. Murakami stunned visitors at Milan Design Week 2025 with two immersive installations that blend robotic engineering with elemental phenomena.
The British-Japanese art duo—also known as Studio Swine—continues to develop what they call ephemeral tech: a practice that harnesses robotics and physics to evoke the wonder and transience of nature.
The cave: Reawakening ancient echoes through robotics
In a dark, saturated space called The Cave, oil pools and the silhouettes of extinct animals set a cinematic tone. Mechanical limbs resembling bird legs raise replicas of ancient bones, invoking humanity’s earliest relationships with nature and memory. A.A. Murakami’s haunting visual language invites viewers to contemplate technological consciousness and our evolutionary roots.
Beyond the horizon: Transience in motion
In the adjoining space, Beyond the Horizon, moonlike bubbles drift and burst into clouds. Blue lighting simulates moonlight, contrasting the fiery glow of The Cave. This dichotomy shapes a sensory narrative: where physics, fragility, and automated choreography blend to form an emotional landscape.
Ephemeral tech: The poetry of impermanence
Groves and Murakami describe ephemeral tech as a strategy to bridge the digital and physical—where interactions mirror nature’s unpredictability. In their installations, technology doesn’t replace nature; it amplifies its wonder, using viscosity, bubbles, plasma, and robotic gestures to create temporary phenomena that live, dissolve, and disappear before the viewer’s eyes.
From Studio Swine to global recognition
Founded in 2010, Studio Swine now splits into two paths: material-based design and immersive, tech-driven installation art through A.A. Murakami. Their work has appeared at MoMA, Centre Pompidou, M+ Hong Kong, and now takes center stage at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, with their solo show Floating World, running through September 2025.
