Lede
The London-based experiential art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast has been named the ArtScience Museum’s 2026–2027 ArtScientists-in-Residence, delivering three immersive installations across the next two years that transform invisible natural systems—from breath to whale song to fungal networks—into visceral, cinematic experiences. The residency, part of the museum’s broader ArtScience program launched in 2023, marks the collective’s deepest engagement in Asia to date.
Body
Marshmallow Laser Feast first captivated Singapore audiences in 2022 with We Live in an Ocean of Air, a virtual-reality installation that synced viewers’ breathing with real-time biofeedback to illustrate the connection between humans, trees, and the wider ecosystem. Now the collective returns for a far more extensive collaboration, with three major presentations rolling out from now through early 2027.
Led by artist-directors Robin McNicholas, Barnaby Steel, and Ersin Han Ersin, the group is known for fusing art, science, and technology alongside ecologists, neuroscientists, and technologists. Their work makes invisible systems—air currents, whale communication, subterranean soil intelligence—startlingly tangible through cinematic visuals, spatial sound, and enveloping environments.
Evolver: An Immersive Journey of Life and Breath
First up is Evolver, on view until August 16, 2026. This award-winning multisensory and VR installation guides visitors through oxygen’s path from mouth to lungs, reframing breath not just as a biological necessity but as a shared link between humans and nature. The experience is spread across two locations inside the museum: the Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy exhibition and the dedicated VR Gallery on Level 4.
Seeing Echoes in the Mind of the Whale
Launching June 6 as part of the museum’s Into The Ocean: Journey Beneath exhibition, this massive three-screen installation plunges viewers into the sensory reality of bottlenose dolphins, humpback whales, and sperm whales. Using footage from ocean-exploration nonprofit OceanX, real whale vocalizations, marine science data, and real-time computing, the work offers a poetic exploration of how these marine giants navigate and communicate through sound.
Poetics of Soil: Fly Agaric I
Rounding out the trilogy later in 2026, this immersive audiovisual piece turns attention underground. Through cinematic imagery, spatial audio, and mycological research, the installation reveals the hidden ecosystems of fungi, microorganisms, and living soil networks beneath the forest floor—a quiet reminder of the life teeming just out of sight.
Public Programs and Symposium
Beyond the exhibitions, the residency includes a schedule of public programming. On June 13, 2026, Ersin Han Ersin will lead a symposium titled “Immersive Ecologies: Sensing the Unseen,” gathering speakers from Singapore’s oceanographic research, environmental science, and ecological thought communities for a multidisciplinary conversation about how we understand the invisible systems that shape life.
Broader Impact
This residency deepens the ArtScience Museum’s commitment to interdisciplinary exchange, connecting local and international artists, designers, and entrepreneurs. For visitors, the installations offer a rare chance to experience art not as a static object but as a living system—one that mirrors the fragility and wonder of the natural world. As Marshmallow Laser Feast continues to push the boundaries of immersive storytelling, their work challenges audiences to see, hear, and feel the often-unseen forces that sustain life on Earth.
Where to see it: ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands. For tickets and program details, visit the museum’s website.