As part of the Palazzo Strozzi Future Art program, in collaboration with the Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati, Palazzo Strozzi presents Shy Society, a spectacular site-specific installation in the Renaissance courtyard created by the Dutch duo DRIFT, renowned for their installations, artworks, and performative projects that merge art and technology.
Shy Society transcends the boundaries between installation, sculpture, and music, transforming the courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi into an immersive stage for a performance that merges artistic expression, nature, and science. The work consists of seven large elements placed in the open space of the courtyard that float slowly and sinuously, opening and closing in a genuine choreography. Their dance is accompanied by an evocative soundtrack by the contemporary American composer RZA that creates an atmosphere of contemplation and strong sensory engagement. Each element continuously unfolds and retracts based on software designed to mimic the unpredictable and natural movements of flowers, thus offering a reflection on the interrelationship between nature and artifice, control and wonder.
The installation at Palazzo Strozzi is an invitation to reimagine the historical context of Palazzo Strozzi as a new and evocative place of exploration, where each visitor becomes an active participant in an immersive and multisensory experience that allows us to reconsider our relationship with nature and the space around us.
A Meeting Between Nature and Art
Shy Society draws inspiration from the fascinating natural phenomenon known as “nyctinasty,” where certain species of plants and flowers close at night and reopen at sunrise for self-defense and to conserve their resources. This phenomenon not only prompts us to reflect on the concept of beauty, between nature and artifice, but also on the idea of adaptation to the environment by all forms of life.
Just as flowers open and close in response to natural cycles, we humans are also called to transform and adapt to the challenges presented by our surroundings. DRIFT’s installation thus becomes an opportunity to reflect on the concept of metamorphosis as an integral part of life and how the spirit of adaptation is essential for our survival.
Shy Society is a project by DRIFT, part of the program Palazzo Strozzi Future Art, developed by Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi and Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati.
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Public Supporters: Comune di Firenze, Regione Toscana, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Camera di Commercio di Firenze.
Fondazione Palazzo Strozzi Private Supporters: Fondazione CR Firenze, Intesa Sanpaolo, Fondazione Hillary Merkus Recordati, Comitato dei Partner di Palazzo Strozzi.
For the collaboration to the Shy Society project, thanks to: Jerome Hadey and Villa Lena Foundation.
DRIFT
Founded in Amsterdam in 2007 by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta, DRIFT produces installations and interactive sculptures where environmental themes, human nature, and technology intertwine in fascinating ways. DRIFT’s immersive, encompassing, and often site-specific projects have been exhibited worldwide, offering meditative and poetic experiences that address themes such as the relationship between the individual and the collective, or the impact of technology on our society.
Collaboration, technological experimentation, and the blending of disciplines are key elements in DRIFT’s work. The duo works in close synergy with scientists, programmers, and engineers, as well as musicians, dancers, and other visual artists to realize their projects. DRIFT’s work aims to create a dialogue between opposites: nature and technology, knowledge and intuition, science and poetry.
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (1969), better known by his stage name RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is the de facto leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan and his eclectic career spans from collaboration with international musicists and the creation of numerous motion picture soundtracks. His latest album is a recording of the score to A Ballet Through Mud, which he wrote and composed for performance in 2023 at Boettcher Concert Hall in Denver, performed by the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Christopher Dragon. The work Shy Society by DRIFT includes the track Good Night 1st Movement as soundtrack of the choreography of the installation at Palazzo Strozzi, Florence.