Shylight

DRIFT – Shylight, 2006 
Aluminum, polished stainless steel, silk, LEDs, robotics 

Die Neue Sammlung - The Design Museum presents "Shylight", a site-specific installation by the Dutch designer duo DRIFT, in the Rotunda of the Pinakothek der Moderne. 

DRIFT is an Amsterdam-based studio founded in 2007 by artist Lonneke Gordijn and artist Ralph Nauta. With an interdisciplinary team, they develop tangible sculptures, installations and performances that explore the relationships between nature, technology and people. The performative installation "Shylight" fascinates with its elegant movement sequences and the poetry of its appearance. The objects suspended from the ceiling of the rotunda and controlled by industrial motors are reminiscent of flowers with their chalice-like structures. These flower-like objects open and close as they move down and up, appearing to perform a contemplative dance according to their own choreography. 

"Certain types of flowers close at night, for self-defence and to conserve their resources. This highly evolved natural mechanism is called ‘nyctinasty’ and inspired Studio Drift to create Shylight, a sculpture that unfolds and retreats to its original state to make a fascinating choreography, mirroring the nyctinasty of real flowers. Man-made objects tend to have a static form, while everything natural in this world, including people, are subject to constant metamorphosis and adaptation to their surroundings. 'Shylight' is the result to the question how an inanimate object can mimic those changes that express character and emotions." (DRIFT) 

"Shylight" by DRIFT is a modular installation that is presented in various constellations at different locations. The Shylight installation developed by DRIFT for the Pinakothek der Moderne consists of a total of 9 objects in two different sizes, which transform the rotunda into a stage.

The exhibition is enabled by American Express. Through the partnership with DRIFT at the Pinakothek der Moderne, American Express aims to promote access to inspiring art and culture and creates an art experience with Amex Art ON that is freely accessible and memorable for everyone. Amex Art ON marks the start of a series of events enabled by American Express.