Last year, Woods surprise-released the EP Five More Flowers. Now, bandleader Jeremy Bradley Earl has announced his debut solo EP, FourSongs, which arrives March 21 on Woodsist. It’s led by the lush and gentle ‘Let the Snow Fall‘. Check it out below, along with the EP tracklist and Earl’s upcoming tour dates.
Five More Flowers EP Cover Artwork:
Five More Flowers EP Tracklist:
1. Days Turn Around
2. Let The Snow Fall
3. I Know A Better Place
4. Deep Water For Ed
Jeremy Bradley Earl 2025 Tour Dates:
Mar 20-21 – Kingston, NY – Tubby’s *
Mar 22 – Providence, RI – AS220 *
Mar 23 – Winooski, VT – Monkey House *
Mar 24 – Portsmouth, NH – Press Room *
Mar 25 – Portland, ME – Space 538 *
Mar 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Fist Unitarian Side Chapel, early & late shows *
Mar 28 – Washington, DC – Songbyrd *
Mar 29-30 – Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool *
Apr 14 – Paris, France – Le Point Ephémère
Apr 17 – Barcelona, Spain – Laut
Apr 20 – Lisbon, Portugal – Musicbox
Apr 22 – London, UK – Lexington
Earlier this year, Black Country, New Road announced their third album, Forever Howlong, with the single ‘Besties’, which made our list of the best songs of January. Today, they’ve followed it up with ‘Happy Birthday’, which was directly inspired by ‘Besties’. “When I wrote ‘Happy Birthday,’ I had Georgia’s song ‘Besties’ in my head,” Tyler Hyde explained. “Therefore, the structure of it is heavily influenced by it.” It comes paired with stop-motion video directed by Lesley-Anne Rose. Check it out below, along with the band’s upcoming tour dates, including a just-announced intimate run of UK live shows.
Mon 7 Apr – Plaza – Stockport, UK
Tue 8 Apr – Queens Hall – Edinburgh, UK
Wed 9 Apr – Leeds Project House – Leeds, UK
Fri 11 Apr – Town Hall – Birmingham, UK
Sat 12 Apr – Engine Rooms – Southampton, UK
Sun 13 Apr – Epic Studios – Norwich, UK
Sat 3 May – Pitchfork Music Festival CDMX – Ciudad De México, MX
Tue 13 May – Salt Shed – Chicago, IL, US ☼ ☆
Wed 14 May – Slowdown – Omaha, NE, US ☼
Fri 16 May – Mission Ballroom – Denver, CO, US ♢
Sat 17 May – Kilby Block Party – Salt Lake City, UT, US
Mon 19 May – The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA, US ☆
Tue 20 May – The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA, US ☆
Thu 22 May – The Warfield – San Francisco, CA, US ☆
Fri 23 May – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR, US ☆
Sat 24 May – Moore Theater – Seattle, WA, US ☆
Fri 23 May – Roseland Theater – Portland, OR, US
Sat 24 May – Moore Theater – Seattle, WA, US
Sat 7 Jun – Primavera Sound Festival – Barcelona, ES
Wed 13-Sat 16 Aug – Paredes de Coura Festival – Porto, PT
Thu 28 Aug – End of the Road 2025 – Dorset, UK
Thu 11 Sep – Rock City – Nottingham, UK
Fri 12 Sep – Albert Hall – Manchester, UK
Sat 13 Sep – Albert Hall – Manchester, UK
Mon 15 Sep – Olympia – Dublin, IE
Tue 16 Sep – Olympia – Dublin, IE
Thu 18 Sep – Barrowlands – Glasgow, UK
Sat 20 Sep – Sage – Gateshead, UK
Mon 22 Sep – Beacon – Bristol, UK
Wed 24 Sep – Corn Exchange – Cambridge, UK
Thu 9 Oct – Casino de Paris – Paris, FR
Fri 10 Oct – Stereolux – Nantes, FR
Sun 12 Oct – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
Mon 13 Oct – Paradiso – Amsterdam, NL
Tue 14 Oct – Gloria – Cologne, DE
Wed 15 Oct – Astra – Berlin, DE
Fri 17 Oct – Vega – Copenhagen, DK
Sat 18 Oct – Fallan – Stockholm, SE
Sun 19 Oct – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, NO
Tue 21 Oct – Mojo – Hamburg, DE
Wed 22 Oct – Roxy – Prague, CZ
Thu 23 Oct – Les Docks – Lausanne, CH
Sat 25 Oct – Magazzini Generali – Milan, IT
Sun 26 Oct – Epicerie Moderne – Lyon, FR
Tue 28 Oct – AB – Brussels, BE
Thu 30 Oct – The Dome – Brighton, UK
Fri 31 Oct – O2 Academy Brixton – London, UK
☼ support from Friko
☆ support from Nora Brown with Stephanie Coleman
♢ supporting St. Vincent
TV on the Radio frontman Tunde Adebimpe has released a new single, ‘God Knows’, lifted from his upcoming debut solo album, Thee Black Boltz. “Breaking up is hard to down dooby doo down do,” he said of the track, which is vulnerable yet driving. Check it out below.
Thee Black Bolt is due for release on April 18 via Sub Pop Records. It features previously shared singles ‘Drop’ and ‘Magnetic’.
In this segment, we round up the best albums released each month. From Horsegirl to Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory, here are, in alphabetical order, the 10 best albums of February 2025.
Baths,Gut
It’s one thing to write music from the stomach versus the heart, as was Will Wiesenfeld’s intention for Gut, his first Baths album in seven years. It’s not a guarantee the songs will actually hit like that. In Gut’s case, though, there’s really barely any separation between the philosophical and the guttural, the feeling and its translation, eschewing the fear of being lost in both. Since releasing his first album under the moniker, Cerulian, in 2010, Wiesenfeld’s work has always been characterized by an unshakeable and downright mimetic physicality, boundless in its erosion of boundaries between real and fantastical worlds. But the self-released Gut – which features live drums on more than half its tracks – is newly unfiltered and unruly in a way that carves a path forward for the project. The intricate nature of his music is still there, but its elasticity serves to stretch the feeling until it gnaws and bubbles through the body. Gut strikes, excites, and soothes in almost equal measure; it’s stomach music, to be sure, but it can’t help but speak to the heart. Read our inspirations interview with Baths.
“I’ll see you at the edge of changing something/ My only stand on me is my impatience/ Maybe it’s best to walk away in silence,” Cryogeyser frontperson Shawn Marom sings on ‘Blew It’, a hlighlight off the Los Angeles trio’s self-titled LP. Produced and engineered by drummer Zach CapittiFenton, the album follows 2021’s timetetheredtogether, marking the longest gap between albums – and a newfound focus on lyrical and vocal acuity. Far from quietly fading out, the longing in these songs come blazing out, Marom not only holding ground amidst the dizziness but turning shoegaze’s typical sludge of emotions into something more concrete, even hopeful. It’s proof of the band honouring patience in their craft without compromising on loud catharsis.
After appearing on Speedy Wunderground’s Quarantine Series, Heartworms teamed up with labelhead and producer Dan Carey for the riveting 2023 EP A Comforting Notion, recently following it up with her debut full-length, Glutton for Punishment. Like any release from a band with similar origins, the record might be lumped as post-punk but easily defies this categorization. Invoking tales from her childhood, military history (a longstanding fascination), and raw feeling, Orme is a nuanced songwriter and nimble performer who conjures but isn’t afraid to break open tightly-wound song structures; to dance and wreak havoc atop the most minimal beats. The album may revolve around our personal and historic thirst for punishment, but in Heartworms’ world, aggression can sound gentle and fiercely illuminating. Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Heartworms.
You don’t always know what Horsegirl are singing about, but you know someone in the group does. Perhaps more than anything, their sophomore album, Phonetics On and On, delights in and charms through its deceptively childlike and unwaveringly playful language, which spins choruses out of practically every variation of “da da da.” Having moved from Chicago to New York between albums, the trio enlisted musician/producer Cate Le Bon to pare down and declutter the sound of 2022’s Versions of Modern Performance while amping up the absurdity in the subtlest places. Through the uncanniness and restraint, though, shines naked emotionality. “It’s oh so plain to see,” Nora Cheng sings at the very end, “How often I think sentimentally.” Whether repeating or tangling up the same words, Horsegirl make you want to sit down and listen. Read the full track-by-track review.
Luminescent Creatures takes its name from the closing track of Ichiko Aoba’s previous effort, 2020’s Windswept Adan, an enchanting and richly rendered record that expanded both the Japanese singer-songwriter’s palette and audience. Working with arranger Taro Umebayashi and creative director Kodai Kobayashi, Aoba’s ambitious vision for that project included a script for an imaginary movie, telling the story of a girl who is exiled to Adan Island. By the end, Aoba wrote in the album’s companion book, “the body of the girl had vanished instead, transformed and reborn into a variety of living things.” That may leave the island uninhabited by humans, but Aoba has no trouble furthering the fantastical journey, breathing music into all other life forms that permeate the universe she’s built around it. Inspired by her visits to Japan’s Ryukyu Archipelago, she augments her field research with vivid imagination and luscious orchestration, so that the immense can feel improbably immersive. “Inside each of us there is a place for our stars to sleep,” Aoba sings on ‘Luciférine’, diving beyond a place, beyond sleep, into dreams. Read the full track-by-track review.
Before it became a way of invoking a world of spirits and ancestors as Masma Dream World, singing was, for Devi Mambouka, a means of communing with nature. The name of the project alludes to a dream she first had when she was six, in which she walked through a nightmarish landscape, lost in a veil of smoke and darkness; demons erupted at the sound of her voice, but what terrified her the most was that it was a voice she couldn’t hear. In America, Mambouka began a new kind of musical and spiritual journey, getting deep into meditation, Hindu mysticism, and Vedantic texts. Sounding by turns meditative, tortured, and exultant, the follow-up to her 2020 debut Play at Night transmutes the abyssal language of devotion and the divine feminine through cavernous electronics, spine-chilling noise, and a powerful voice that succumbs to forces beyond her control. It makes the void sound like an embrace, and the embrace immortal. Read our Artist Spotlight interview with Masma Dream World.
Oklou‘s debut LP, choke enough, is eerily enchanting yet damn near impossible to pin down. The French-born, London-based vocalist and producer, born Marylou Mayniel, may have been honing in her leftfield stylings for a decade now, but the way she flavours every trace of genre on choke enough – which finds her working with A.G. Cook, Danny L Harle, and co-producer Casey MQ – gives it the feel of an instant avant-pop classic. As giddily lush and Y2K-infused as it is dreamily ambient – but above all vaporous – the record zones in on the experience of decentering from one’s self, the way it stretches over a period of years and the glimmers of life peaking through the cracks. It’s an album you can’t help but get lost in, yet it never totally loses itself, anchoring in a world of in-betweens.
Life on the road has shaped Squid’s worldview – and worldbuilding – but they won’t write a song about touring. Not exactly. The way it’s broadened their perspective bleeds through the characters, settings, and influences behind the art-rockers’ third album, Cowards, which pares down the knotty textures of 2023’s O Monolith. It begins as a relatively straightforward, or straightforwardly manic, catalog of evil, but its framework slowly becomes more slippery, oblique, and widely evocative. It’s unhinged and prickly, like trying to pick the salt out of the ocean, before zooming out and plunging in. “And we just play our songs/ To the sea,” Ollie Judge sings on the very last song, suddenly shifting the gaze back to the group, or society as a whole. “And hope that nothing comes/ And washes us away.” Read the full track-by-track review.
After finishing his tour in support of 2023’s Heaven Is a Junkyard, Trevor Powers stumbled upon a shoebox of home videos from his childhood in his parents’ basement. It’s no surprise, given his textured, self-reflective approach to songwriting, that audio samples from the tapes would end up on his next album as Youth Lagoon, Rarely Do I Dream. Powers’ most powerful tool, however, isn’t nostalgia but juxtaposition, which he employs to harden the line between the innocence of childhood and the violent currents of today, between juvenile dreams and intoxicated fantasies, obliviousness and imagination; and to diffuse it, too. The record also finds Powers making some of his most dynamic – and dynamically sequenced – songs to date, which only underlines the thematic contrasts. For every pillowy melody and irresistible chorus, there is a tragic story that’s hard to chew, characters with murky backgrounds, memories that can’t be erased. It’s relentless and revitalizing – proof that whatever Powers does next might look to the past, but will hardly look like the thing that came before. Read the full track-by-track review.
The New Museum, Manhattan’s only Museum dedicated exclusively to contemporary art, revealed that its 60,000 sq ft building expansion designed by OMA / Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas in collaboration with Cooper Robertson will open in the fall of 2025.
As a hub for new art and ideas, the New Museum has experimented and evolved since its founding in 1977, expanding its footprint at key moments to serve artists and the public better.
Its OMA-designed expansion will complement the New Museum’s existing SANAA-designed flagship building on the Bowery at Prince Street while doubling its gallery space. In addition to adding three elevators, a stairway in the atrium, and an entrance plaza, the Museum also created new spaces for artist residencies and public programs, as well as building a purpose-built home for its cultural incubator, NEW INC, as well as many other new and expanded features, marking a transformational time for both the Museum and the city.
Talking about the opening, Lisa Phillips, Toby Devan Lewis, Director of the New Museum, stated: “The New Museum has always been a future-facing museum—not a place for preserving and recording history, but a place where history is made” further adding “We are thrilled to be working with Shohei Shigematsu and Rem Koolhaas on OMA’s first public building in New York City, ushering in a new era of possibilities for the New Museum as a vital civic resource for New Yorkers and the global arts community.”
Through photography, Eileen Perrier has been forging relationships between people since the 1990s, recognizing the profound power of seeing others. A Thousand Small Stories will be exhibited at Autograph’s East London gallery from 17 April – 13 September 2025.
Using makeshift studios, Perrier connects her sitters through shared interests, kinship, and geographic location. Perrier’s work has evolved into a form of social engagement that embodies individuality and encourages us to see past social and cultural barriers.
Through photographs, Perrier contemplates the ways class, cultural identity, and belonging are represented in 19th-century European and contemporary black studio portraiture. She found herself caught between her upbringing and her dual Ghanaian and Dominican diaspora heritage as a London-born, London-raised artist. As Perrier examines how both geographical and cultural contexts affect identity, this sense of ambiguity is central to her work.
Presented for the first time in the industry, the Art Basel Awards honour innovative artists, curators, museums, patrons, cross-disciplinary creators, media, and others shaping contemporary art’s future. There will be 36 Medals awarded by an international jury of experts, who will select individuals and organizations worldwide based on their vanguard vision, skills, and impact. Art Basel will recognize medalists through year-round campaigns and initiatives.
Medalists will pilot a peer-driven process whereby they will vote to select 12 Gold Medalists from among themselves, representing the Art Basel Awards’ highest honour and a new model of recognition in which future changemakers are uniquely elevated by their peers.
The medalists will be announced in May 2025 and honoured during Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland in June. The Art Basel Awards will unveil their Gold Medalists at a special event during Art Basel Miami Beach in December. Immersive experiences will reflect the visionary spirit of these awards.
Assembling carefully chosen members with expertise, influence, and demonstrated commitment to shaping art’s future, the Art Basel Awards International Jury is chaired by de Bellis. They are: Hoor Al-Qasimi, President and Director, Sharjah Art Foundation; Elena Filipovic, Director, Kunstmuseum Basel; Koyo Kouoh, Executive Director and Chief Curator, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), Cape Town, and Curator, 61st International Art Exhibition (2026), La Biennale di Venezia; Jessica Morgan, Nathalie de Gunzberg Director, Dia Art Foundation, New York; Hans Ulrich Obrist, Artistic Director, Serpentine, London; Adriano Pedrosa, Artistic Director, Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP); Suhanya Raffel, Museum Director, M+, Hong Kong; Franklin Sirmans, Director, Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM); and Philip Tinari, Director and Chief Executive, UCCA Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing.
With BOSS as their presenting partner, the Art Basel Awards are highlighting connections between contemporary art and global culture. Hugo BOSS Group’s longstanding commitment to fostering discovery and dialogue at the intersection of fashion and art is embodied in the Awards.
The 97th Academy Awards took place last night in Hollywood, California. Anora and its filmmaker Sean Baker were the big winners, winning five of the six Oscars for which it was nominated: Best Picture, Best Director Sean Baker, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editor – all for Baker – and Best Actress for Mikey Madison. In the musical categories, Emilia Pérez, which led this year’s nominations with 13 total, won Best Song for ‘El Mal’, while Daniel Blumberg won Best Original Score for The Brutalist.
Songwriters Clément Ducol, Camille, and Jacques Audiard won their first-ever Academy Award for ‘El Mal’. The Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger presented the award, joking, “The producers really wanted Bob Dylan to do this. Bob didn’t want to do it because he said the best songs this year were obviously in the movie A Complete Unknown. Bob said, ‘You should find somebody younger.’ I said, ‘Okay! I’m younger! I’m young enough, Bob! I’ll do it!’ So here I am.”
“We hope it speaks to the role music and art can play and continue to play as a force of the good and progress in the world,” Camille said while accepting the award. This year’s other Best Song nominees included ‘Mi Camino’ from Emilia Pérez (which Selena Gomez sang), ‘Never Too Late’ from Elton John: Never Too Late, ‘The Journey’ from The Six Triple Eight, and ‘Like a Bird’ from Sing Sing.
This is was also Blumberg’s first Academy Award win, beating out Volker Bertelmann for Conclave, Clément Ducol and Camille for Emilia Pérez, John Powell and Stephen Schwartz for Wicked, and Kris Bowers for The Wild Robot. Mark Hamill presented the award for Best Original Score.
“Thank you to the Academy and everyone who watched the film and honored the work. It means a lot to be acknowledged like this,” Blumberg said during his acceptance speed. “I’ve been an artist for 20 years now, since I was a teenager. When I met Brady, I found my artistic soulmate. For him to trust me in this work and to grow alongside him has been so special. Thank you, Brady. I love you. I want to thank my collaborators, my co-producer Peter Walsh, and the artists who played on the score. The sounds you hear on The Brutalist are made by a group of hardworking, radical musicians who’ve been making uncompromising music for many years. I’m accepting this award on behalf of them, too.”
The 2025 Academy Awards also featured a performance from Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who sang a number of Wizard of Oz-inspired songs. LISA, Doja Cat, and Raye performed a medley paying tribute to the James Bond franchise: Lisa did ‘Live and Let Die’, Doja Cat performed ‘Diamonds Are Forever’, and Raye sang Adele’s ‘Skyfall’. In a tribute to Quincy Jones, Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey indtroduced a performance of The Wiz‘s ‘Ease on Down the Road’. Jones, who died on November 3, 2024, was the first Black composer nominated in the Original Song category in 1967.
Everyone longs for radiant skin that emanates health and vitality. However, factors such as aging, environmental pollutants, and lifestyle choices can dull the natural glow of our skin. Fortunately, various treatments can help restore that luster, enhancing your appearance and boosting your confidence. This guide walks you through different approaches to rejuvenating your skin, focusing on effective treatments that cater to a range of needs.
Understanding Skin Types and Concerns
Identifying your skin type is crucial when considering restoration treatments. Generally, skin types fall into categories such as oily, dry, combination, and sensitive. Each type requires a different approach to care and treatment. For oily skin, treatments often emphasize oil control and tightening pores, while dry skin solutions focus on hydration and nourishment.
Common skin concerns include acne, pigmentation issues, fine lines, and uneven texture. Acne can lead to scarring that affects your skin’s appearance. Pigmentation problems often arise due to sun exposure or hormonal changes, leading to dark spots. Fine lines and an uneven texture reflect the skin’s natural aging process.
Topical Treatments to Enhance Skin Glow
Topical treatments form the foundation of any skincare routine. Antioxidants like vitamins C and E can brighten the skin and protect against environmental damage. Regular use of exfoliants, such as alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta-hydroxy acids (BHAs), sloughs off dead skin cells, promoting cellular turnover for a fresh appearance. Retinoids are another popular option because they enhance collagen production and improve skin elasticity, leading to smoother and younger-looking skin.
Hydration is vital for maintaining skin glow. Moisturizers, serums, and hydrating masks can replenish moisture levels. Look for ingredients like hyaluronic acid that can hold up to a thousand times its weight in water. Certain natural ingredients, such as aloe vera and honey, can also help soothe and hydrate the skin.
Professional Treatments for Better Results
For those seeking enhanced results beyond the daily routine, professional treatments can provide more dramatic transformations. Chemical peels offer a powerful way to renew the skin by removing layers of dead skin cells, revealing a fresher complexion below. These treatments vary in strength and can address multiple concerns, including acne scars and hyperpigmentation. Microdermabrasion is another popular professional option. This treatment involves exfoliating the skin using fine crystals, promoting circulation, and improving overall skin texture.
Combining treatments can yield even better results—for example, many people follow up microdermabrasion with targeted serums to maximize the benefits gained from the procedure. Non-invasive techniques such as microneedling increase collagen production through controlled skin injuries, leading to tighter and rejuvenated skin. Among the breakthroughs in skin rejuvenation is non-surgical skin tightening, which provides a minimally invasive option that effectively lifts and tightens the skin. This treatment can be particularly appealing for those who wish to avoid traditional surgery while still seeking significant results in maintaining a youthful appearance.
Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle for Radiant Skin
Skin health goes beyond topical treatments and requires attention to lifestyle choices. A balanced diet rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals can support skin health from the inside out. Foods high in omega-3s, such as salmon, improve skin barrier function, while colorful fruits and vegetables provide essential nutrients and enhance skin radiance. Hydration should also be a priority; drinking enough water keeps the skin plump and minimizes the appearance of fine lines.
Regular exercise enhances blood circulation, which can improve skin tone and promote a natural glow. Stress management techniques such as yoga and meditation can be beneficial. Stress often manifests physically, including in the form of breakouts and dull skin, so addressing mental well-being contributes to overall skin health.
Choosing the Right Routine for Your Skin
Developing a personalized skincare routine is crucial to achieving optimal skin health. Assess your skin needs and concerns regularly to adjust your routine accordingly. Begin by identifying the products that work best with your skin type, avoiding irritants or components that may worsen existing conditions.
Consistency is key to success; sticking to a prescribed routine enhances efficacy and supports long-term benefits. Patch tests can prevent adverse reactions, especially when introducing new products. Seek professional guidance when necessary, as dermatologists or estheticians can provide tailored advice that suits your unique skin needs. Ensuring a balance between treatments and lifestyle choices will guide you to achieve that coveted glow.
The Benefits of Professional Treatments
While at-home care is essential, professional treatments can offer distinct advantages. Licensed dermatologists and estheticians have access to advanced technologies and products not available over the counter. Services like facials, chemical peels, and laser treatments deliver targeted results that are harder to achieve at home. Professionals can assess individual skin types and conditions, customizing treatments accordingly.
Consulting with a skincare expert may provide insights into the most effective regimen or treatment best suited for your unique needs. The investment in professional skin care can result in noticeable improvements and boost confidence. Such services significantly complement daily routines, making regular visits worthwhile for maintaining optimal skin health.
Restoring the glow of your skin involves a multi-faceted approach, bringing together various treatments, lifestyle choices, and expert insights. From understanding your skin type to embracing professional procedures and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, each step plays a role in achieving rejuvenation. By staying informed and adapting your routine, you can enhance your appearance and reclaim the vibrant skin you desire.
London-based artist Qi Qi delves deep into the nuanced interplay between technology, nature, and consciousness through her thought-provoking installations. Her works consistently challenge audiences to reconsider the boundaries of life and technology, often presenting machines not merely as tools but as entities capable of introspection, interaction, and emotional resonance, blending immersive experiences with profound philosophical inquiries.
As part of Qi Qi’s Robots Live series, the Mirror Test is a prime example of her ability to evoke deep questions about identity and self-awareness through the medium of interactive installation. Drawing inspiration from the cognitive experiment used on animals to assess self-recognition, this installation presents a robot engaged in what appears to be a moment of self-reflection. As the robot observes itself in a mirror, it occasionally acknowledges passersby before returning to its own reflection, mimicking the contemplative behavior of a living being. This piece blurs the lines between machine and consciousness, encouraging viewers to reflect on their sense of self and the potential for artificial beings to possess a form of awareness. The robot’s seemingly simple act of looking into a mirror becomes a layered exploration of presence and the metaphysical concept of “knowing oneself.” While undeniably compelling, the work raises questions about the depth of machine consciousness—does simulated self-recognition equate to awareness, or is it merely a well-programmed illusion?
Qi Qi Shadows of Grace Kinetic Installation
Qi’s fascination with historical and cultural narratives shines through in Shadows of Grace. This installation marries traditional Chinese aesthetics with contemporary interactive technology, creating a space where time and culture fluidly intertwine. A silhouette of an ancient Chinese figure reacts as viewers walk past a screen, with kinetic mechanisms casting dynamic shadows that seem to breathe life into the past. The piece is inspired by the Chinese idiom Graceful but Late (姗姗来迟) and the historical tale from The Book of Han, where an emperor’s longing for his lost love is expressed through the ethereal vision of a shadow. By employing negative space and subtlety, Shadows of Grace invites the audience to imagine untold stories, demonstrating Qi’s skill in blending tangible mechanisms with intangible stories. Although the work is based heavily on historical stories, that won’t limit the appreciation of a wider audience because it’s visually poetic and ingenious in its principles.
In Rainsonance, created in collaboration with Yinzhe Qu, Qi expands her exploration to environmental and ethical questions. The installation submerges viewers in an interactive audiovisual experience, where water, sound, and motion coalesce to question the fragility of ecological and social harmony. As participants move within the space, their actions alter the soundscape and visual elements, creating a ripple effect that symbolizes humanity’s impact on nature. The work draws inspiration from Fly with Pacha into the Aerocene (2020), highlighting the paradox of ecological innovations that promise redemption yet often perpetuate inequality. Rainsonance not only engages the senses but also prompts introspection on how human ambition shapes, and sometimes distorts, the natural world. Yet, while its environmental message is urgent and relevant, the abstract nature of the piece may leave some audiences uncertain about the artist’s stance or intended message.
With Shadows of Mass, Qi shifts focus to the cosmic scale, using new media art to visualize the principles of relativity. The installation immerses participants in a universe where their movements distort the surrounding stars, offering a tangible representation of mass warping space-time. This work beautifully bridges scientific theory and sensory experience, making abstract concepts accessible while maintaining a sense of awe and mystery. The faster the viewer moves, the more chaotic and colorful the universe becomes, underscoring the dynamic relationship between speed, mass, and the fabric of reality.
Across these works, Qi Qi masterfully balances technological innovation with philosophical depth. Her installations serve as bridges—between the past and the future, the organic and the synthetic, the human and the machine. By creating environments that invite both physical interaction and intellectual engagement, Qi offers audiences not just art to observe, but experiences to live through. She prompts a rethinking of what it means to be alive, to be conscious, and to coexist with technology in an ever-evolving world.
It’s one thing to write music from the stomach versus the heart, as was Will Wiesenfeld’s intention for Gut, his first 
“I’ll see you at the edge of changing something/ My only stand on me is my impatience/ Maybe it’s best to walk away in silence,” 
You don’t always know what 
Luminescent Creatures takes its name from the closing track of 
Before it became a way of invoking a world of spirits and ancestors as 
Life on the road has shaped 
After finishing his tour in support of 2023’s 
