Material Interactions 一 A New Species of Design

In their debut collaboration at Artlab, Buenos Aires, designers Heidi Jalkh (MoA Associated Member) and Nadya Suvorova present material-driven kinetic sculptures that don’t just move—they respond, proving that »passive matter« is anything but.
For most of history, we have treated the materials around us as inert. Wood is carved, steel is forged, and plastic is molded. We act, and the material obeys. They are tools for our intent. But what happens when matter stops taking orders and starts showing signs of life? Material Interactions is a collaborative project by Heidi Jalkh (AR) and Nadya Suvorova (CH). A mesmerising exploration of material agency 一 the idea that matter isn’t just a building block, but an active participant in the design process.

Sourced from emergent materials developed in laboratories in Switzerland and Argentina, the exhibition presents a series of kinetic sculptures that feel less like machines and more like expressive organisms. These aren’t just programmed robots performing loops, but reactive protagonists that respond to proximity, attention, and time.
The venue becomes a stage for a cast of distinct entities, each built around a specific material property. A soft autonomous membrane adapts through an inward, armadillo-like contraction, lifting its target through form alone. Nearby, metallic foams caught in rotating magnetic fields appear to defy gravity, moonwalking across vertical planes in a weightless dance. The scale shifts as visitors encounter a magnetic carpet of silicone cilia, where tiny strands bend collectively to ferry objects across a rippling surface, mimicking the microscopic transport systems of the human body.

Elsewhere, a wobbling habitat serves as a cradle for fungal growth, while a seashell bioceramic sphere forms a perfect geometry through the art of modular joining. Augmented by an immersive audiovisual installation, Material Interactions reshapes how we experience materials, movement, and space. Auxetic expansion and bio-growth are no longer hidden laboratory behaviours, but are made present as physical and sensory phenomena.

At its core, the project asks what new objects and relationships become possible once we acknowledge that matter can sense and respond. Working at the intersection of materials science, biology, engineering, design, and art, Heidi Jalkh and Nadya Suvorova challenge a human-centric perspective, reframing the threshold of what it means to be »alive«.
At Artlab, material systems have officially left the petri dishes and lab benches behind. No longer silent witnesses, they co-exist with us. And they have plenty to say.

The Material Interactions exhibition is supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Artlab, Hydro Argentina, the Swiss Embassy in Argentina, and Print-a-Lot.

Venue and Opening Times

It takes place from March 5 to 28, 2026, at Artlab, Roseti 93, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and is open Thursday to Saturday, 7-11 pm.
Artlab is a laboratory that explores and uses new technologies and digital creativity to develop artistic projects, stimulate new forms of expressio,n and promote critical thinking from Latin America to the world.

Contact

Press contact: info [​at​] materialinteractions.com
Instagram: @material_interactions
Website: materialinteractions.com