“Aeolus” (2026) at Ladbroke Hall. Photos by Benjamin Baccarani. Images courtesy of Carpenters and DRIFT, shared with permission
Combining the elemental rhythms with human-made materials, DRIFT’s latest sculptural choreography invites visitors to consider their connection to nature in an interactive experience influenced by the planet’s intrinsic processes and systems. “Aeolus” is named for the ancient Greek deity of the wind and comprises an environment characterized by numerous glass rods with tiny lights inside. These are activated by visitors’ movements.
“Like wind itself, the work only fully exists through interaction,” say Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, founders of the Amsterdam-based design studio in a statement. “It is both still and in motion, fixed yet constantly changing.” Light and glass were chosen to further represent ephemerality and transitions. Glass can be so light and clear it appears spectral, and light is immaterial like the wind: it may be here one moment and gone the next.
“Aeolus” remains on view through October 25 at Carpenters inside of Ladbroke Hall in London. The studio has also announced the forthcoming DRIFT Museum, an 8,000-square-meter space inside of the Van Gendt Hallen in Amsterdam slated to open in early 2027. Follow updates on DRIFT’s Instagram.
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