{"id":86420,"date":"2026-06-18T01:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T01:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/86420\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T01:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T01:56:10","slug":"mist-filled-bubbles-grow-out-of-a-a-murakamis-symbiosis-installation-for-bmw-at-art-basel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/86420\/","title":{"rendered":"mist-filled bubbles grow out of A.A.murakami’s SYMBIOSIS installation for BMW at art basel"},"content":{"rendered":"

A.A.MURAKAMI AND BMW AT ART BASEL 2026<\/p>\n

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\u2018Existence itself becomes the material,\u2019 A.A.Murakami<\/a> tells designboom during the premiere of SYMBIOSIS, their BMW<\/a>-commissioned installation<\/a> during Art Basel 2026<\/a>. Exploring the boundary between the artificial and the natural, the immersive project centers on a sculptural monolith where engineered systems give rise to bubbles, light and mist that evolve beyond control.<\/p>\n

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\u2018Our installations typically combine custom technology with uncontrollable natural phenomena,\u2019 explains Azusa Murakami. \u2018We engineer precise systems that ultimately let nature take over. Once a bubble is formed, forces like gravity and airflow dictate its path. It is fundamentally about surrendering control to physical forces.\u2019<\/p>\n

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This year\u2019s collaboration continues BMW\u2019s tradition of partnering with acclaimed artists, following Es Devlin in 2024 and Alvaro Barrington in 2025. \u2018BMW invited us to propose a concept for Art Basel exploring the theme of symbiosis, which resonated deeply with us, as our work frequently explores how technology and natural forces synthesize into a unique experience,\u2019 Alexander Groves notes.<\/p>\n

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A.A.Murakami presents SYMBIOSIS at Art Basel in Basel 2026. images \u00a9 Gary Yeh<\/p>\n

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SYMBIOSIS EXPLORES EXISTENCE AS MATERIAL<\/p>\n

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On view until June 21st, 2026 at Art Basel\u2019s Hall 1, the multisensory installation translates the BMW<\/a> Symbiotic Drive technology of the Neue Klasse into an ephemeral, physical experience. A.A.Murakami\u2019s work consistently interrogates the point where human control ends and nature takes over.<\/p>\n

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In SYMBIOSIS, the London and Tokyo-based artist duo <\/a>crafts a\u00a0continuous dialogue between engineered systems and natural evolution, where sculptural forms coexist with ephemeral phenomena.<\/p>\n

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\u2018We view these bubbles as almost alive,\u2019 explains Groves. \u2018While intuitively obvious to recognize, life is scientifically difficult to define. However, early life is thought to have formed within fatty ocean bubbles before evolving into complex cells. To us, bubbles represent memento mori: the beauty and transience of life.\u2019<\/p>\n

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In their \u2018ephemeral tech\u2019 artworks, whether composed of fog rings, bubbles, or plasma, existence itself becomes the material. \u2018Much like the Light and Space movement used light as their primary medium, we use existence. The work appears out of thin air and disappears back into it.\u2019<\/p>\n

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the immersive installation translates BMW\u2019s Symbiotic Drive technology into an ephemeral artwork<\/p>\n

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AN INSTALLATION WHERE PRECISE ENGINEERING AND NATURE COEXIST<\/p>\n

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Exploring the boundary between the artificial and the natural, SYMBIOSIS utilizes custom machines to produce light, mist, and mist-filled bubbles that evolve entirely shaped by natural forces.<\/p>\n

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\u2018In this piece, mist-filled bubbles grow out of the sculpture and slide down its surface, driven by the technology behind them. We are fascinated by this transition: taking information from the digital world and turning it into something ephemeral, subject to natural laws like gravity and intermolecular forces.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The work centers around the new BMW M760e xDrive, a vehicle whose monolithic design distills every element to its essential form. Together, the car and the installation reveal a balance between complex engineered technology and an emotive outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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As a nod to BMW\u2019s reputation for precision engineering, A.A.Murakami decided to also showcase the technology behind the installation, highlighting their own engineering and adding a new dimension to the work.<\/p>\n

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bubbles, light, and mist move through the space as engineering meets nature<\/p>\n

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the bubbles emerge from robotic totems before drifting across Messeplatz<\/p>\n

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SYMBIOSIS surrounds the new BMW M760e xDrive with shifting atmospheric effects<\/p>\n

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the installation reflects the Neue Klasse\u2019s focus on intuitive interaction between driver and vehicle<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A.A.MURAKAMI AND BMW AT ART BASEL 2026 \u00a0 \u2018Existence itself becomes the material,\u2019 A.A.Murakami tells designboom during the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86421,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8],"tags":[44086,44087,44088,77,37810,13658],"class_list":["post-86420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basel","tag-a-a-murakami","tag-art-basel-week-2026","tag-art-interviews","tag-basel","tag-bmw","tag-interactive-installation"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116768629567044586","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}