After the positive experiences of “Can you imagine?” and “Shape your life!”, for the third Alcantara-MAXXI exhibition the two curators chose a path that goes straight to the essence of the material. In the words of Giulio Cappellini and Domitilla Dardi: “The two groups of designers were asked to work on creating a multisensory experience that would start with touch and sight and go on to explore other possibilities. The result is a kind of synaesthesia. To achieve it, the visitors’ input is essential: their interaction with the exhibit is part of the exhibit, the one feeds on the other’s involvement”.

The two Fabrica installations, Pendulums and Shiver, move in the dimension of sound and light: visitors activate the interactions by touch. The Minale-Maeda duo’s work, Essences, Compounds, Particles, addresses the olfactory universe as it invites visitors/players to compose new blends of shapes and essences.