The project that became Medusa grew from early conversations between Todd Eckert and Ben Evans (Director of the London Design Festival) about the meaning and social potential of architecture without physical form. From this emerged a collaboration between scientist/artist Yoyo Munk and architect Sou Fujimoto: an experiment in evolving architecture with no physical form, where the intentionality and form of the work is constantly reinventing itself in response to how it is being inhabited and perceived by its audience. Bonding over a shared fascination with the emergence of complexity from repeating minimalist elements, the visual structure of Medusa employs an array of thousands of hanging overhead columns, with their motions inspired equally by drifting atmospheric auroras and the slow pulsations of deep sea bioluminescent siphonophores. The result is an installation work that explores the outer limits of what is possible to accomplish within the medium of mixed reality, a living structure unlike anything that could be physically built by humans.

Medusa premiered as the headlining installation for the London Design Festival in 2021, taking its initial form within the Raphael Court of the V&A Museum in London. It was experienced by thousands over the course of the festival, and received positive coverage from Dezeen, DesignBoom, and StirWorld, among others. In its original form, it was accompanied by an immersive soundscape by Reese Donohue based on an original composition by Ryuichi Sakamoto. The installation was selected as one of Dezeen’s top ten installations of 2021.

Medusa was next shown at Pioneer Works in 2023, with a new form adapted to the space of the main gallery hall. For this exhibition, in keeping with the evolutionary principles at the heart of Medusa, the original composition for Medusa formed the inspiration for a reinvention and reimagining by New York pianist and composer Kelly Moran. A Disklavier piano, kindly provided by Yamaha in support of the installation, allowed for the musical component of the installation to be played back acoustically within the gallery space, creating a spectacular real world focal point within the space to anchor the motions of the virtual structure. On four separate occasions, Moran performed improvised durational performances in duet with Medusa – these were incredibly special events that left audiences enraptured. The installation received very positive press from The Architect’s Newspaper and Fast Company.

Timed with the exhibition at Pioneer Works, Tin Drum and Hurtwood Press published a companion book, featuring a series of essays by Yoyo Munk, as well as conversations between Yoyo Munk and Sou Fujimoto, James Bridle, Seirian Sumner, and Veronica Strang. Creative directed by Alysha Naples and designed by Billie Temple, the book was shortlisted for Best Exhibition Catalogue of 2023 in the British Book Design Awards.