Blackbox

Blackbox is a suspended kinetic installation — a machine organism hanging above the crowd. CNC-cut aluminium armatures, mirrored panels and LED arrays are assembled into a single mechanical body that opens, closes and turns through the night, washed in red light and fog.

The work treats the machine as the centre of a ritual rather than a piece of stage equipment. The audience gathers underneath; the structure breathes overhead; a wearable mechanical extension carries the system onto a human body and into the crowd.

Two builds

Blackbox is an evolving system, not a fixed object. The first build was staged at Groundless Camp in Beijing and in London. In 2026 the machine was rebuilt with reworked mechanics, lighting and laser design, and staged at ‘ARCH’ — a techno night in London where DFFF ran lighting, laser geometry, audiovisual control and live visuals against the set, the machine performing as part of the line-up.

Inside the machine

Blackbox is designed, engineered and fabricated in-house as a modular system: a suspended steel frame carries interchangeable aluminium mechanisms, motor drives and LED arrays, so the machine can be dismantled, shipped and reassembled for each space it enters — and rebuilt between versions.