designboom · Creativity & design

Studio DRIFT Unveils Kinetic Flower Installation in Las Vegas

Studio DRIFT has installed "Shy Society Palazzo," a kinetic art piece featuring moving flowers, in the lobby of The Venetian Resort Las Vegas. The installation combines two of the studio's previous works, "Shylight" and "Meadow."

The suspended artwork consists of nine "Shylight" sculptures and 18 "Meadow" elements, mimicking the opening and closing of flowers through a continuously evolving choreography. The installation's movement is central to its definition, with individual "Shylight" pieces acting like solitary flowers or dancers, while the "Meadow" elements function collectively.

Inspired by nyctinasty, the natural phenomenon of flowers closing at night, the sculptural forms expand and retract throughout the day. Light interacts with these movements, illuminating the suspended shapes within the large lobby space.

The installation highlights the interplay between individual behavior and collective action. "Shylight" focuses on individual forms, while "Meadow" explores group dynamics, together transforming a botanical rhythm into a statement on individuality, coordination, and interdependence.

While the installation moves continuously and calmly most of the time, it performs a fully choreographed sequence accompanied by music once every hour. The score is designed around rhythms associated with the human body, such as breathing and heartbeat.

This hourly performance creates a parallel between biological and technological systems, as the programmed sequences simulate organic rhythms, similar to how flowers respond to environmental cycles. The sculptures emit soft pink, blue, and white light.

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