The MIT Museum presents Remembering the Future, a monumental installation by artist Janet Echelman created in collaboration with architect, engineer, and MIT Associate Professor Caitlin Mueller. Suspended above the museum’s grand lobby and open to the public from September 18th, 2025, through Fall 2027, the work transforms climate data into a three-dimensional form that invites visitors to engage both visually and conceptually.

From the moment visitors enter the MIT Museum, their attention is drawn upward to Echelman’s expansive net sculpture. Braided and hand-spliced fibers in shifting hues of orange and blue stretch across the atrium to form a canopy of color that hovers above the staircase. The multi-layered netting creates a sense of movement as natural light filters through during the day and programmed illumination activates the piece after dark, casting soft reflections on the surrounding walls.

images © Anna Olivella, courtesy MIT Museum

janet echelman works with professor caitlin mueller

The MIT Museum installation is the result of an intensive partnership between artist Janet Echelman and architect Caitlin Mueller, whose work at MIT’s Digital Structures group informed the project’s structural innovation. Together, they developed a new technology that expands the geometric possibilities of tension-based forms. The collaboration demonstrates how architectural engineering and artistic expression can merge to produce lightweight structures that maintain strength and equilibrium.

Remembering the Future draws its form from climate records spanning the last ice age through projections of potential futures. MIT climate scientist Raffaele Ferrari provided data modeling support, using a climate model emulator connected to the En-ROADS platform to simulate regional changes in temperature and atmosphere. This scientific framework shapes the sculpture’s curves and layers, embedding climate research directly into its physical design.

Janet Echelman creates a large-scale fiber installation at the MIT Museum

structural dynamics virtually illustrated

Alongside Janet Echelman’s installation, a digital kiosk created by Mueller allows visitors to the MIT Museum to explore the structural dynamics of the work. Through an interactive interface, guests can adjust a virtual version of the net, observing how tension and balance respond to their input. This hands-on experience reveals the engineering principles that stabilize the sculpture and highlights the precision required to achieve its seemingly effortless suspension.

The work inaugurates the MIT Museum’s thematic season TIME, a year-long program examining the nature of temporal change through art, science, and technology. Large-scale video projections accompany the sculpture, presenting Echelman’s previous civic projects around the world and situating Remembering the Future within her broader practice of creating soft, floating forms that redefine public space.

the sculpture is suspended above the museum lobby staircase

braided and hand-spliced fibers shift in color from orange to blue

Professor Caitlin Mueller collaborates on new tension-based structural technology

climate data from the last ice age shapes the flowing form

an interactive digital twin reveals the forces of tension and balance

the work launches the MIT Museum’s thematic season, TIME

project info:

name: Remembering the Future

artist: Janet Echelman | @janetechelman

architect: Cailtin Mueller | @digitalstructures

location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

client: MIT Museum | @mitmuseum

completion: September 18th, 2025

photography: © Anna Olivella 

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The Seoul Museum of Art presents ‘Ernesto Neto: Ba Ka Ba, a Dance of the Eternal Polarities,’ a new site-specific installation by the Brazilian artist that transforms the Korean museum’s Seosomun Main Branch lobby into a sensory environment. Commissioned as part of the 2025 SeMA Public Space Project, the woven artwork expands Ernesto Neto‘s longstanding interest in the relationships between body, space, and collective experience.

Ernesto Neto portrait | images courtesy SeMA, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery

sema suspends colossal crocheted artworks

Ernesto Neto’s installation at the Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA) is composed of expansive crochet structures woven from industrial cotton fabrics in shades of brown and pink. These colors, chosen to evoke tree trunks and night alongside flowers and day, establish a dialogue between natural rhythms and architectural structure. Suspended and filled with dried guava leaves and locally sourced tea leaves, the artist‘s forms invite a multi-sensory encounter that engages smell both texture together.

By occupying the museum’s lobby and adjacent open spaces, the work introduces an organic intervention into the building’s otherwise linear architecture. The flowing crochet forms generate a cyclical sense of space, suggesting continuity and transformation rather than fixed boundaries. Visitors move through and around the installation, encountering shifting relations between center and periphery, interior and exterior.

Ernesto Neto presents ‘Ba Ka Ba, a Dance of the Eternal Polarities’ at the Seoul Museum of Art

the installation’s onomatopoeic title

The title ‘Ba Ka Ba’ functions as an onomatopoeic expression, its mirrored syllables referencing cycles and flows. This rhythm extends into the work’s conceptual framework: polarities such as body and space, sensation and thought, or self and other are not held apart but brought into dialogue. For Neto, these intersections remain central to his practice, recalling his ties to the Brazilian Neo-Concrete movement of the late 1950s and 1960s, which emphasized participation, sensation, and subjective experience.

These ideas are reimagined within Seoul’s contemporary urban context. The installation offers an open environment where visitors become part of the work itself and embody a condition of exchange and interrelation. The sensory components extend beyond the visual to affirm art’s role in daily life.

the installation fills the Seosomun Main Branch lobby with crochet structures

the work is filled with dried guava leaves and locally sourced tea leaves

brown and pink industrial cotton fabrics evoke tree trunks night flowers and day

the crocheted forms bring an organic intervention to the museum’s linear architecture

project info:

name: Ernesto Neto: Ba Ka Ba, a Dance of the Eternal Polarities (Ba Ka Ba, uma dança das eternas polaridades)

artist: Ernesto Neto | @ernestonetoarte

museum: Seoul Museum of Art (SeMA)

location: 61, Deoksugung-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea

photography: © SeMA

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Mona Sugata’s intricate sculptures are made from cotton fabric, thread, glue, and pigment, materials that hold traces of fragility, heat, and breath. Shaped into botanical forms and infused with an otherworldly quality, her works feel alive in a surreal way. In her latest exhibition, What Resonates Through Us — Echoes in Overtones, on view at Galerie Ovo in Taipei from August 22nd to September 6th, 2025, Sugata presents a series of installations that extend her ongoing exploration of living systems, unseen presences, and the subtle conditions that allow life to take shape. ‘I imagine them as relics quietly resting in an ancient monastery, holding a sacred presence,’ she tells designboom.

‘My installations do not try to speak too much,’ she remarks during our discussion. ‘They are quietly placed with space, light, air, and subtle presence so that the viewer may encounter their own sense of life and the quiet sensations within.’ The works do not represent plants in a literal way, but they reflect Sugata’s close attention to the movements and structures of plants growing in her own garden, particularly the forms of stems and the gestures of growth that seem to carry vitality. Her observations are translated into symbolic organisms, gradually taking on a bodily quality and sometimes resembling intelligent life.

all images courtesy of Mona Sugata | Tree of Life — A Planet of Playing Beings

delicate forms rooted in sacred cycles

Japanese artist Mona Sugata works with untreated cotton, glue, and diluted pigments, allowing the fabric to absorb and bleed color. Once dry, the pieces are shaped and detailed using a heated iron tool to burn fine vein-like lines into the surface. ‘This is the moment when life begins to inhabit the work,’ she reveals. Sugata avoids coating or overworking the surface in order to preserve the softness of the materials and the natural shifts in tone, resulting in a surface that feels more like something in a slow state of becoming instead of a finished object.

Pillar of Prayer Kumade and Pillar of Prayer Purple Star, some of her latest works, are rooted in the Japanese jichinsai, a ceremony performed before construction, where offerings are made to the local land deity. The artist imagines these sculptures as vertical structures that remain after such a ceremony, linking the land and its inhabitants. The ceramic base represents the land god, while the plant forms growing from it reflect a relationship of coexistence, between what is built and what is already there. ‘It expresses the idea of sacred plants living on the god of the land and living in beautiful coexistence,’ Sugata notes.

Tree of Life — A Planet of Playing Beings, installed at the atrium of the Spiral art center in Tokyo, reflects Sugata’s idea of the Earth as an active field shaped by invisible beings, bacteria, insects, and other non-human lives. ‘Even after death, life becomes part of other beings, undergoing a perpetual cycle of rebirth and rebirth,’ she says. The work evokes these cycles through layered organic forms that spiral outward in motion, resembling a kind of visual system for life as play, disappearance, and return.

reflecting Sugata’s idea of the Earth

A Practice Shaped by Sensitivity and Direct Contact

Sugata’s approach is shaped by physical sensitivity rather than strict planning. She adjusts the process depending on the direction of each piece, working by feel rather than concept. ‘If I feel tension or resistance in my body, I take it as a sign that something is off,’ she explains. The final step, using the iron to create form, is done by hand and involves direct contact with heat, often leading to burns. Still, she treats these traces as part of the work itself, as reminders of material resistance, timing, and repetition.

Mona Sugata was born in Tokyo in 1983 and studied printmaking at Tama Art University. That background still informs her handling of surface and tone, but her installations move away from printed images into something more spatial and responsive. ‘My works are not for interpretation,’ she highlights. ‘They are for quiet encounters.’

Sugata hopes viewers will encounter something of their own in her work. ‘In such stillness,’ she reflects, ‘one might sense a deeper connection, with the world, with others. And in that resonance, I too receive something essential.’

an active field shaped by invisible beings, bacteria, insects, and other non-human lives

Mona Sugata works with untreated cotton, glue, and diluted pigments

a kind of visual system for life as play, disappearance, and return

layered organic forms spiral outward in motion

Midday Moon (left) sits closer to abstraction

inspired by the pale yellow moon sometimes visible during daylight

Pillar of Prayer Kumade and Pillar of Prayer Purple Star are rooted in the Japanese jichinsai

the artist imagines these sculptures as vertical structures that remain after a ceremony

the plant forms reflect a relationship of coexistence

the pieces are shaped and detailed using a heated iron tool

the artist burns fine, vein-like lines into the surface

Sugata avoids coating or overworking the surface in order to preserve the softness of the materials

a surface that feels like something in a state of becoming

project info:

artist: Mona Sugata | @monasugata

exhibition: What Resonates Through Us — Echoes in Overtones

location: Galerie Ovo, Taipei, Taiwan | @galerieovo
dates: August 22nd to September 6th, 2025

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Ernesto Neto has filled the Nef Nord of Paris‘s Grand Palais with a vast, handwoven installation of bark, earth, spice, and fiber. Nosso Barco Tambor Terra invites visitors into a soft and sensory architecture, suspended beneath the glass and iron canopy recently restored by Chatillon Architectes (see designboom’s coverage here). The structure is meant to be entered, touched, and heard. Inside, rhythm and movement unfold slowly through texture and breath.

The woven installation is shaped in looping crochet, cords, and braided skins that hang and seem to grow downward. While Neto’s forms appear intuitive and improvised, they hold their own internal order. The exhibition connects body to earth, rhythm to breath, and matter to movement.

Ernesto Neto fills the Grand Palais with a woven structure | image © GrandPalaisRmn 2025 / Photo Didier Plow

Rhythm as Structure within the grand palais

There are instruments hidden inside artist Ernesto Neto’s work at the Grand Palais. Some are barely visible, folded into the skins of the structure like bones. Others invite touch directly. On designated days, musicians coax out their voices in performances that feel less like concerts than ceremonies. Drums from across continents — Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America — respond to each other and to the visitors’ presence. The sound emerges from within the piece, resonating through it like a pulse through a body.

This immersive environment forms the center of Nosso Barco Tambor Terra, though the boundaries remain open. Around the structure, the Grand Palais hosts ongoing activations: open conversations, workshops, live music, and play. A Brazilian café serves as a gathering point. The surrounding programming extends Neto’s vision outward, into dialogue and shared attention.

visitors can interact with the organic materials | image © GrandPalaisRmn 2025 / Photo Didier Plow

a woven membrane for gathering

Ernesto Neto speaks in a language of materials that resist polish. Bark and raw fiber, hand-woven mesh, suspended spice bundles — everything points to manual labor, to knowledge passed down through the body. The space becomes a collective membrane, a place where traditions drift together, not diluted but echoed. His approach to scale is as much emotional as physical. 

The setting amplifies this intention. After several years of restoration led by Chatillon Architectes, the Grand Palais reopens with renewed clarity just in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The freshly restructured envelope now plays host to something profoundly unmechanical, unhurried. The juxtaposition feels deliberate. Neto’s project is one of slowness and attention, rooted in the body and the ground beneath it.

Presented in collaboration with Lisbon’s MAAT and as part of the France–Brazil Season 2025, this exhibition expands the idea of architecture beyond construction. Neto frames it as something we move through with care, something that listens back. It makes room for rest and for ceremony and leaves traces in the senses. And in the center of Paris, it becomes a vessel for learning and for dreaming.

drums inside the work are played during live shows | image © GrandPalaisRmn 2025 / Photo Didier Plow

the piece hosts workshops, concerts, and communal events | image © designboom

materials reflect ancestral craft and manual labor | image © GrandPalaisRmn 2025 / Photo Didier Plow

the restored Grand Palais offers a luminous setting | image © designboom

the project is part of the France–Brazil Season 2025 | image © designboom

the installation is co-produced by MAAT in Lisbon | image © designboom

project info:

name: Nosso Barco Tambor Terra

architect: Ernesto Neto | @ernestonetoart

location: Grand Palais, Paris, France

event: France–Brazil Season 2025

collaboration: MAAT

photography: © designboom, © GrandPalaisRmn 2025 / Photo Didier Plow

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The Scenic Route presents six new punch-needle embroidery works by Toronto-based textile artist Adrienna Matzeg. Inspired by summer road trips along the East Coast, the collection explores visual and sensory elements associated with travel. The works depict moments such as roadside stops, shifting horizons at dusk, and the glow of neon signs in compositions using vividly colored threads. Matzeg integrates photography and textile techniques to develop her punch-needle embroidery compositions.

At The Lookoff | all images courtesy of Adrienna Matzeg

Vivid colors and shapes compose Scenic Route embroidery series

Textile artist Adrienna Matzeg’s series examines the relationship between place and memory, reducing subjects to abstracted colors and shapes that evoke recollections of past travel experiences. The strong fiber art traditions of Eastern Canada’s Maritimes region also inform the connection between material and narrative in the works. Matzeg’s artistic practice spans analog and digital processes, including weaving, screen printing, and photographic techniques. The Scenic Route collection expands the artist’s exploration of textiles as a medium for storytelling.

punch-needle embroidery captures the essence of summer road trips | The Afterglow

Adrienna Matzeg’s textile work transforms travel memories into vivid compositions | Open

the series weaves travel memories into thread and texture | Lighthouse Route

embroidery captures fleeting travel moments in vibrant textile compositions | Catch of the Day

textile serves as a medium for preserving places and memories | Catch of the Day

neon signs and fading daylight are recreated through punch-needle embroidery | Lick-A-Treat

vividly colored threads reconstruct scenes from past road trips | The Scenic Route

project info:

name: The Scenic Route
artist: Adrienna Matzeg | @adriennamatzeg

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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Italian artist ECO unveils La Cura, a project that merges woven art and urban regeneration in Barzanò, a small town in the heart of Brianza, Italy. Unlike nearby Milan, Barzanò retains a slower pace of life, fostering close social connections and community vibrancy. At its center, however, lies a stark void—a disused building complex that serves as both a witness to the town’s history and a symbol of its neglect. The structure, a former elementary school built during the Fascist era, embodies the architectural characteristics of that period. It remains a significant marker of the town’s identity and memory, becoming a ‘living ghost’ after years of abandonment. The structure stands as a deep wound in the townscape. Despite numerous efforts by successive administrations to restore and repurpose the property, the building continues to demand attention and care.

La Cura thread installation extends across the building’s main facade, presenting an artistic intervention aimed at awakening public consciousness. Urging residents to move beyond mere awareness, the public artwork calls for collective meaningful action to harness the energy required for the structure’s redevelopment. By confronting indifference and apathy, ECO challenges viewers to reflect on their role in preserving community identity.

all images by Andrea Bassani | courtesy of ECO

ECO encourages participatory activism toward urban recovery

The initiative transforms public art into a form of participatory activism, involving the local community to reveal the hidden potential of neglected spaces. By consciously leveraging abandonment as an opportunity, the artist seeks to spark virtuous cycles of recovery and restoration.

Italy, with one of the highest numbers of abandoned or poorly restored buildings in the world, faces an ongoing challenge in redirecting energy toward sustainable rehabilitation. This issue is exacerbated by indifference and the growing disparity between neglected rural areas and overdeveloped urban centers. The increasing demand for space in cities risks undermining Italy’s delicate urban fabric, which is defined by its unique and varied environmental contexts. In this context, Barzanò becomes a poignant example—a starting point for a series of projects aimed at confronting and healing the scars on Italy’s identity. La Cura embodies a call to action, emphasizing that the decision to restore these spaces is not merely architectural but also a moral imperative.

La Cura by Italian artist ECO merges art with urban regeneration in Barzanò, a historic town in Brianza

the installation revives a disused Fascist-era elementary school—a stark void in the town’s vibrant fabric

La Cura transforms the school’s main facade into an artistic intervention, calling for public awareness

by highlighting the potential of abandonment, ECO sparks new opportunities for recovery and restoration

years of abandonment have turned the structure into a ‘living ghost’ within the urban landscape

the abandoned school is both a witness to Barzanò’s history and a poignant symbol of neglect

La Cura reimagines public art as participatory activism, involving the community in revitalizing neglected spaces

La Cura serves as a moral call to action, advocating for the restoration of community and identity

Barzanò becomes a symbolic starting point for healing the scars of neglect in Italy’s architectural heritage

first conceptual sketch of the artwork

project info:

name: La Cura
artist: ECO | @followthe.eco

photography: Andrea Bassani | @bassa.mc

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post la cura threaded installation by ECO weaves across neglected elementary school in italy appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

The largest exhibition dedicated to Chiharu Shiota in France is now on view at the Grand Palais in Paris, charting the artist’s career, which spans over twenty years. Since the early 1990s, Shiota (b. 1972, Osaka, Japan; lives in Berlin, Germany) has developed a multidimensional body of work that reflects her ongoing exploration of the transience of life, inviting reflections on both our past and future. Working across various mediums, including performance, sculpture, drawing, video, and monumental installations comprising a myriad of fine threads, the artist explores themes such as motherhood, life cycles, and geographic displacement. These themes are deeply personal, shaped by her experiences as a woman, artist, and immigrant. Her work is further influenced by her confrontation with mortality, particularly after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2005, and again in 2017, when the cancer returned. Facing another surgery and months of chemotherapy, Shiota channeled the emotional and physical intensity of this ordeal into her art, which culminated in the exhibition The Soul Trembles, first presented at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum in 2019.

Co-organised with the Mori Art Museum, the monographic exhibition at the Grand Palais offers an unprecedented opportunity to discover the multifaceted work of Chiharu Shiota. Seven large-scale installations recreated by the artist herself and spread over more than 1,200 square metres, as well sculptures, photographs, drawings, performance videos and archive documents take visitors through a sensorial journey across the ‘tremblings of the soul’ that compose the artist’s inner world and art. ‘I am inspired by my own experiences or emotions and want to extend these feelings into something universal,’ Shiota tells Anaïs Lellouche, a longtime collaborator of the artist, in an interview for designboom. ‘I cannot explain these feelings with words that is why I need to make art, so when the audience sees my work, I want them to feel like ‘wow, I know this feeling, I connect to it’.’ Read the conversation in full below. 

Chiharu Shiota, Where are we going? 2017/2024, metal frame, rope, cotton thread | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

INTERVIEW WITH CHIHARU SHIOTA

Anaïs Lellouche (AL): The Soul Trembles was conceived as a survey exhibition that includes both new works, tracing your artistic evolution over the past three decades. How did you approach this new exhibition in Paris, with its unique architectural setting, and at this particular moment in your life?

Chiharu Shiota (CS): The Grand Palais is a very unique and famous historic building. It represents both the past and the future of art, and I feel truly grateful to be part of that story. Even though this is a traveling show, every exhibition is different. The thread is always cut and every installation is created new. The thread is tangled, loose, cut, tense and broken off. This is the 8th stop of the touring exhibition but the first in Europe. I have a strong connection with Paris. It’s an honor to show my work in this amazing city, and I’m excited to share my work with the people of Paris.

AL: Paris is a city in which you have shown before and created major works such as the installation ‘Where Are We Going?’, originally presented at Le Bon Marche which featured 150 steel armature boats in a maze of white threads levitating in space. How has the city influenced your creative process, and what unique energy or inspiration does it bring to your large-scale installations?

CS: I’ve had a close relationship with Galerie Templon here in Paris for the past 15 years. I visit the city every year. Paris is a city full of art and inspiration. This extensive exhibition presents more than 100 of my artworks including ‘Where are we going?’ at the entrance of the exhibition. When I created this installation in 2017, it was the first time I used white thread. The artwork is about life and that death is not the end of life but a new beginning. This was also the first time I used the thread in this two-dimensional form. I wrapped a frame with thread and fixed it with glue, so I could cut these panels and create a three-dimensional boat. I am happy that this work is now back in Paris after 7 years.

Chiharu Shiota, Uncertain Journey, 2016/2024, metal frame, red wool | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: The title The Soul Trembles evokes the mysterious essence of life and what lies beyond the physical body. After facing your own mortality, you embraced the idea of the soul’s existence beyond matter. How has this belief shaped your exploration of life and death in your work, and what impact do you hope it has on how viewers see themselves and their place in the universe?

CS: Mami Kataoka, then curator now director of the Mori Art Museum, came to Berlin in 2017 and invited me to show at the Moir Art Museum. I was so happy but the next day when I went to the doctor for a check-up, they informed me that the cancer returned. So, during the preparation for this extensive solo exhibition, I had surgery and chemotherapy and I was thinking about life, death and my daughter, who was only 9 years old at that time. I thought, how can she grow up without a mother. I was thinking about the soul and what would remain of myself. This was the inspiration for the title and also for the video work ‘About the Soul’. I had visited a German school and interview students of the same age as my daughter to ask them what they think the soul was and what color does it have and if plants and animals also have souls. I could not talk about death with my own daughter but I was curious to know what other children would think about the soul. During my treatment, I felt like I was on a conveyor belt, my soul and body separated. I felt like my body is somewhere else, which is why I wanted to create art from more lasting materials like bronze and leather like the work ‘Out of my Body’.

Chiharu Shiota, Uncertain Journey, 2016/2024 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: Life, death, and existence are central themes in your art, often presented from a ‘cosmic’ perspective. How do you approach these concepts, and what kind of spiritual or emotional connection do you aim to create with your audience?

CS: I am inspired by my own experiences or emotions and want to extend these feelings into something universal. I cannot explain these feelings with words that is why I need to make art, so when the audience sees my work, I want them to feel like ‘wow, I know this feeling, I connect to it’. I think art helps us to speak to each other beyond words and beyond the universe. But it is difficult to explain. I want people to be surprised and only react when they enter the room, and then afterwards they can question the concept or technique.

Chiharu Shiota, Uncertain Journey, 2016/2024 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: The tension between certainty and uncertainty and the fear of loss seem to drive your creative process. How do these feelings influence your art, and how do you hope your audience relates to them in their own lives?

CS: No one knows the destination of life. I start to collect these items because of a personal feeling. Many years ago, I had a miscarriage and then my father passed away shorty after. I wanted to hold something important, but small, in my hand, this was the key. That is why I started to collect keys. I am not only including one single key in my work, but I collected thousands of keys because it is not about me but about we. When it is not just about me but a collective existence then it becomes art. That is why the work ‘The Key in the Hand’ was so strong.

Chiharu Shiota, In the Hand, 2017 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: Your experience with cancer has brought the body into sharper focus in your work, transforming it from an absence into a tangible presence. Pieces like Out of My Body (2019), born from what you describe as your ‘tribulation to create earnest works,’ embody this shift. How has this evolution shaped your use of color, threads, and bodily imagery? What do you hope viewers gain from engaging with this deeply personal exploration?

CS: My theme of my work is existence in the absence. I usually collect old, ordinary objects such as shoes, suitcases, chairs, beds, keys and windows and connect them with the thread. These objects surround us daily and thereby also accumulate our memory and existence. I have never met this person but I can feel their existence in the old shoes for example. The web resembles all of human relationships as it is tangled, tense, loose, broken off or cut. But when my body and mind were disconnected during my cancer treatment. I wanted to use my own body again and create something that would last after I was gone. I started to work with bronze, leather, wire and glass for installations and sculptures. It has become an addition to my overall practice and material. Glass is fragile but durable at the same time just like my body. I often don’t think about the audience, making art occupies everything of myself, there is not much space to think about the audience, all my energy goes into my art. I want people to feel free to feel whatever they want. Every person is different, in contemporary art there is no single answer. We don’t know what the other is truly thinking and I cannot assume what the audience will feel or think. We can only try to have deeper conversation without words with art.

view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: Death plays a central role in your exploration of existence. How do you approach the interplay between life and death in your art, and what truths or emotions do you aim to reveal through this investigation?

CS: After I moved to Germany, I moved 9 times in 3 years. When I woke up in the morning, I did not know where I was, dreams become reality and reality becomes a dream. It’s difficult to distinguish the truth. It’s a fundamental concern to question one’s existence. One day, during my studies, I started weaving in my bed. This was my first installation using this technique of weaving a web and inserting an object inside. This experience also became an inspiration for the installation, one of them was titled ‘Sleeping is like Death’. I like to use beds because many people are born and die in bed.

Chiharu Shiota, Connecting Small Memories, 2024, mixed media view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: Your work evokes a constellation of memories and dreams, where viewers can engage with symbolic objects like boats, suitcases, windows, and beds, yet always from a distance—almost as if observing the lives of others as an immaterial presence. How do you create intimacy in your visceral works while preserving a sense of mystery and universality?

CS: When I go to the flea market in Berlin, I see all these objects, and all these things were so important to the people all their whole life. It is like a treasure, their family photo album, or passport but now after their death these objects just become trash, there is no meaning, without the person. This person does not exist anymore but I can see their existence through this object. I feel like I know them even though I have never met them.

Chiharu Shiota, Connecting Small Memories, 2024 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

AL: When one dies, we are ultimately alone, yet your work emphasizes human connection and relationships. What question do you hope visitors and viewers of your exhibitions leave with?

CS: We are all connected with an invisible line, everyone lives in this society connected with someone. I want them to question Who am I? and What is existence?

AL: In closing Chiharu Shiota, where do these visions come from?

CS: It is a feeling coming from my gut.

Chiharu Shiota, In Silence, 2002/2024, burnt piano, burnt chair, Alcantara black thread | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota, In Silence, 2002/2024 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota, Inside-Outside, 2008/2024, old wooden window | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota, Inside-Outside, 2008/2024 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota, Reflection of Space and Time, 2018/2024, white dress, mirror, metal frame, Alcantara black thread | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota, Accumulation-Searching for the Destination, 2014/2024, suitcase, motor, red rope | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota, Accumulation-Searching for the Destination, 2014/2024 | view of the exhibition ‘Chiharu Shiota, The Soul Trembles’, Grand Palais, Paris 2024 | Scenography Atelier Jodar © GrandPalaisRmn 2024 / Photo Didier Plowy © Adagp, Paris, 2024 and the artist

Chiharu Shiota at the Grand Palais | photo by Didier Plowy

project info:

exhibition name: The Soul Trembles

artist: Chiharu Shiota | @chiharushiota

curator: Mami Kataoka, Director of Mori Art Museum, Tokyo

location: Grand Palais, Paris, France | @le_grand_palais

dates: 11 December, 2024 – 19 March, 2025

interview: Anaïs Lellouche

The post ‘we are all connected with an invisible line’ – in conversation with chiharu shiota appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Palestinian textile artist and designer Areen lands at Dubai Design Week 2023 with Flowing Threads — a captivating installation that unravels layers of symbolism, revealing the interconnectedness of identity and the ‘cosmic tapestry’, all while emphasizing transparency and adaptability in life. Based in Dubai, Areen has always closely aligned her creative practice and cultural identity with textiles, in form and principle. With every new work, she seeks to blur the boundaries between humans and objects in a totality that spotlights the vibrancy and harmony of Arabian Culture. ‘The meeting of materials, colors, shapes, orientation and patterns in composition enables the viewer to observe the work as an embodied universe of symbolic meaning, often showing concern with the path we take through life,’ the artist tells designboom. 

Flowing Threads installation by Areen | image courtesy Dubai Design Week

evoking layers of symbolism, transparency, & adaptability in life

Using textiles that are unraveled and reshaped by her own hands, Areen (see more here) presents Flowing Threads at Dubai Design Week as a meticulous and laborious effort of revealing layers that allow the fabric to follow wind movement, accentuating its lightness, while the contrast of color against the muted solidness of its surroundings creates a dynamic gradation of reflections. ‘The fabric itself is a microcosm, representing an individual’s existence within the larger universe. Just as the fabric consists of interconnected threads, humans are interconnected with the fabric of the universe, forming part of a cosmic tapestry,’ she continues. By unraveling the fabric, Areen contemplates the unraveling of one’s own journey, the layers of identity, and the significance of transparency and adaptability in life itself.

image courtesy Dubai Design Week

about the textile artist and designer

Areen’s works have been showcased in several international exhibitions, from Palestine to Beirut, Dubai, Bahrain, Turkey, New York, Germany, and Poland, including the International Talente Exhibition (2019) in Munich, the International Exhibition of Textiles (2019) at the Central Textile Museum in Lodz, Textile month (2018) in New York, and the MKG Museum in Hamburg for which she was awarded the Justus Brinckmann Award 2019. The artist also held several solo shows, namely her first titled ‘By Areen عــــــــــــــــــريــــــــــــــــــن بــــــــــــــــــيـد ‘ at the Art Centre in Manama, Bahrain, commissioned by H.E Sheikha May Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa, the president of Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities. The exhibitions revealed various designs, from conceptual dresses to conceptual rugs, wearable art pieces, and her overall process. Her ‘Mother Thread by Areen’ was then selected by Khawla Art and Culture for Dubai Design District 2022. 

a contrast of color against the muted solidness of its surroundings | image courtesy Areen

a dynamic gradation of reflections | image courtesy Areen

image courtesy Areen

image © designboom

Flowing Threads concept | image courtesy Areen

image courtesy Areen

image courtesy Areen

the Palestinian artist and designer at work | image courtesy Areen

a meticulous and laborious effort of revealing fabric layers | image courtesy Areen

prototyping | image courtesy Areen

image courtesy Areen

project info:

name: Flowing Threads

location: Dubai, UAE

artist: Areen | @by_areen

program: Dubai Design Week 2023 | @dubaidesignweek

The post palestinian artist areen’s flowing installation unravels waves of threads at dubai design week appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

YI+MU Design Office unveils ‘The Flower of Tujia’, an immersive installation at the China Tujia Brocade Art Museum in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province. The structure spans from the floor to the ceiling, inviting visitors to explore the ancient artistry of Tujia brocade, a traditional handicraft that, after remaining silent for thousands of years, has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. Standing at an impressive 8 meters wide, 13 meters tall, and 8 meters deep, this monumental piece is crafted from 150,000 meters of vibrant red brocade threads. Decorating the central space of the museum’s interior, the composition resembles ‘a blossoming flower that transcends both time and space’.

The design skillfully translates the essence of Tujia brocade into a symbolic three-dimensional expansion of the single-sided intricate pattern. The installation consists of 20 steel bars forming a frame, to which the red brocade threads are meticulously attached. The diamond-shaped structure, referencing the brocade’s signature motif, is visible from every angle of the interior.

all images ©YI+MU Design Office

installation links traditional craftsmanship and modern design

Two steel staircases connected by two platforms create a vertical passage, integrating with the installation itself. The design draws from the hexagonal shape found in Xilan Kapu patterns featuring warm colors and a rigorous structure dominated by geometric symmetry and repeating diamond shapes and diagonal lines. The linear structure of the staircases and the outer steel framework stand on a raised floor and along with the woven patterns invite visitors to engage with the space.

Beyond the central area, the design team incorporates simple materials surrounding the installation such as white oak, textured paint, metal mesh, and terrazzo. Against a backdrop of gray-black, white spindles intersect with multi-colored threads across the facade and roof, subtly directing attention toward the center while partially concealing the peripheral space.

The project aims to bridge the gap between traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design by infusing modern aesthetics and artistic forms. The spatial composition exudes a distinct identity and is linked to cultural heritage and spiritual attributes.

the installation at the China Tujia Brocade Art Museum displays symmetrical patterns of red brocade threads

the composition resembles ‘a blossoming flower that transcends both time and space’

the design is defined by geometric symmetry and repeating diamond shapes and diagonal lines

the monumental piece is crafted from 150,000 meters of vibrant red brocade threads

the artwork is a symbolic three-dimensional expansion of the single-sided intricate pattern

the diamond-shaped structures resemble the brocade’s signature motif

project info:

name: The Flower of Tujia at the China Tujia Brocade Art Museum
designer:  YI+MU Design Office | @yiandmu

location: Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

The post 150,000 meters of vibrant red brocade threads compose immersive installation in china appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Following nearly a decade’s absence from the New York contemporary art scene, Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota returns with her new Galerie Templon exhibition ‘Signs of Life.’ The immersive show includes a unique site-specific installation and never-before-seen sculptures and drawings.

Chiharu Shiota is well-known for her stunning site-specific installations that skillfully blend together knotted threads, window frames, a piano, suitcases, books and used clothes. These ephemeral, immersive pieces are developed from both sculpture and drawing, and have become her signature. Since her memorable showing at the Japanese Pavilion at the 2015 Venice Bienniale, she has rightfully earned her place as an influential figure in the global art world, and has been invited to exhibit in numerous museums around the world.

images © Charles Roussel

explore suspended ‘signs of life’ at galerie templon

Chiharu Shiota’s exhibition ‘Signs of Life’ at New York’s Galerie Templon questions the concept of the ‘web,’ a living thing much like the structures composing the universe or the neurons of our brains. Across two weeks, a large-scale installation of red threads — representing the perpetual link of data, collective remembrance, and knowledge which transcends countries and borders — was assembled together on-site.

The artist‘s own two arms, cast in bronze, are at the core of the work. Facing up to the sky, they lie on the ground. ‘I always thought that if death took my body, I wouldn’t exist anymore,’ she explains. ‘I’m now convinced that my spirit will continue to exist because there is more to me than a body. My consciousness is connected to everything around me and my art unfolds by way of people’s memory.’

rediscovering objects forgotten in time

Following the large-scale installation, Galerie Templon displays a number of sculptures which showcase Chiharu Shiota’s work across a range of scale. Suspended within coiled threads, objects of daily emerge as if frozen in time. ‘I feel that the objects we possess are like a third skin,’ she continues. ‘We accumulate these things and transpose our presence and our memory to them.’ Oftentimes out of date and saturated with unknowable histories, these items — aged suitcases, stained dolls, miniature furniture, and tiny bottles — demonstrate the gifts of remembrance, which can be viewed but not touched.

project info:

project title: Signs of Life

artist: Chiharu Shiota | @chiharushiota

location: Galerie Templon | @galerietemplon, 293 10th Avenue, New York, NY

on view: January 19th — March 9th, 2023

photography: © Charles Roussel | @charlesroussel

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