what’s the story behind anish kapoor and greenpeace’s gushing red liquid on shell’s platform?

anish kapoor and greenpeace flood liquid on shell’s platform

 

Anish Kapoor and Greenpeace activists install the BUTCHERED on the active gas platform of Shell located 45 nautical miles off the Norfolk coast. A debut of an artwork on an active offshore fossil fuel platform, the installation represents and visualizes the climate damage caused by fossil fuel extraction, with the blood-like liquid symbolizing the environmental impact of oil and gas operations like Shell’s. Anish Kapoor and Greenpeace’s installation takes place during the fourth heatwave of summer 2025 in the UK, coinciding with the temperature records breaking across Europe, wildfires burning areas twice the size of Glasgow, and flash floods hitting communities in China and northern India. For the installation, seven Greenpeace climbers boarded the platform and scaled the structure to install a 12-meter by 8-meter canvas on one side. 

 

The activists positioned a high-pressure hose 16 meters above sea level at the top of the canvas. The installation process involved pumping 1,000 liters of red liquid through the hose onto the canvas, and the liquid created a red stain across the fabric surface. It consists of seawater, beetroot powder, and non-toxic food-based pond dye, while the canvas uses standard fabric materials suitable for outdoor installation. The mounting system secures the canvas to the platform structure using industrial fastening hardware, and the hose system connects to pumping equipment that delivers the liquid at controlled pressure. Greenpeace says that Anish Kapoor specifically designed BUTCHERED for the installation on Shell’s gas platform off the Norfolk coast.

all images courtesy of Greenpeace | photos by Andrew McConnell

 

 

Construction of oil and gas fields generates carbon emissions

 

Shell and other oil companies have caused over half of the world’s climate damage, coming up with a total cost of 28 trillion dollars. A study from Dartmouth College found this information, which Greenpeace quoted in relation to artist Anish Kapoor’s BUTCHERED on Shell’s oil platform. The campaigning organization also says that Shell reported 54 billion GBP in profits over two years following the Ukraine invasion and that it paid 1.2 billion GBP in UK taxes during the same period, representing 2 percent of global earnings. 

 

The analysis estimates Shell’s carbon pollution over 30 years caused 1.42 trillion USD in climate damage worldwide. In a report by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), a key player in the Dutch climate justice movement, the team writes that Shell owns or part-owns 1,196 oil and gas fields total, with 700 oil and gas fields that remain undeveloped or may still be underway. In case the gas company goes ahead with the construction, the movement states that this would generate 10.8 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, which represents one-quarter of global carbon emissions. 

Greenpeace climbers install Anish Kapoor’s BUTCHERED onto a Shell platform in the North Sea

 

 

campaign calling for governments to tax oil and gas companies

 

As a way of visually and visibly translating the gathered studies, Greenpeace teams up with Anish Kapoor and selects Shell as the platform of the urgent advocacy. The artist previously challenged the fossil fuel industry connections in 2019 when he called for London’s National Portrait Gallery to end partnerships with BP. 

 

He’s now a figure of Greenpeace’s Polluters Pay Pact initiative, a campaign that calls for governments to tax oil and gas companies for environmental damages. Greenpeace says it accepts the responsibility for the installation activities and material choices and that the artwork connects climate activism with contemporary art practice through direct intervention at fossil fuel extraction sites.

it is dubbed the world’s first artwork to be installed at an active offshore gas site

the activists hoisted a high-pressure hose on top of the canvas at a height of 16 metres above the sea

the activists pump 1,000 litres of blood-red liquid that gushed into the fabric

the liquid consists of seawater, beetroot powder, and non-toxic food-based pond dye

the mounting system secures the canvas to the platform structure using industrial fastening hardware

for the installation, seven Greenpeace climbers boarded the platform

 

project info:

 

name: BUTCHERED

artist: Anish Kapoor | @dirty_corner

organization: Greenpeace | @greenpeaceuk

photography: Andrew McConnell | @andrewmcconnellphoto

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SOM-designed concourse D at chicago’s o’hare international airport begins construction

Building concourse D at chicago’s o’hare airport by SOM

 

The City of Chicago announces the start of the construction on the SOM-designed Concourse D at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The project, which was first proposed in 2019, represents the first building in the ORDNext expansion program, as part of the airport’s Terminal Area Plan, with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill leading the design team alongside Ross Barney Architects, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects, and Arup. The facility is expected to function as one of the country’s first domestic-international codeshare concourses, and at the time of publishing, the construction completion is scheduled for late 2028. 

 

The design centers around a multi-level space with an oculus that brings daylight to lower floors. This central area serves as the primary arrival point for passengers from the Concourse C bridge and the underground tunnel to the future O’Hare Global Terminal. The floor’s layout uses curved lines inspired by oxbow bends in Midwestern rivers, and these curves define zones for rest, dining, retail, and play areas. Landscaped sections organize the space into distinct amenity zones using colors, textures, and plantings from Midwestern landscapes.

all images courtesy of SOM

 

 

Reimagining the Passenger Experience at O’Hare

 

As a major step in the ambitious O’Hare 21 capital program, the new Concourse D is designed to welcome and serve more than 80 million passengers each year. New renderings offer a first glimpse into the architectural vision for the concourse’s dynamic, passenger-centric public spaces, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), a global practice of architects, designers, engineers, and planners, founded in Chicago in 1936.

 

‘Our vision for the new Concourse D considers the entire passenger journey from curb to gate,’ says SOM Design Partner Scott Duncan. ‘From skylit spaces to orchard-inspired columns, every element contributes to a bright, easy-to-navigate environment designed to elevate the travel experience and leave a lasting impression of O’Hare.’

architectural rendering of the Concourse D at O’Hare International Airport

 

 

A Design Inspired by Nature and an Authentic Sense of Place

 

At the heart of the concourse is a multi-level space with an oculus that brings daylight to the lower floors. This central area serves as the primary arrival point for passengers from the Concourse C bridge and the underground tunnel to the future O’Hare Global Terminal, orienting them as they enter. The floor plan is shaped by soft, curved lines inspired by the oxbow bends of Midwestern rivers, which define zones for rest, dining, retail, and play. Landscaped areas further organize the space into distinct amenity zones, using a palette of colors, textures, and plantings drawn from the native landscapes of the Midwest. An airline club lounge on the upper floor offers elevated views of the gates.

 

The concourse’s design integrates a structural system that minimizes vertical supports, utilizing branching columns inspired by the orchards that once gave the airport its name. This design improves sightlines and opens up views across the concourse. The roof’s contours and overhangs are tuned to the Midwest climate to help regulate temperature, while the minimized structure reduces embodied carbon. At the southern end of the concourse, a bright, open area with a double-height glazed wall offers expansive views of the airfield and the Chicago skyline. This space, flanked by six gate lounges, is envisioned as a calm, light-filled retreat with varied seating options, including larger benches for groups, café-style tables for quick meals, and raised seating with counters for a comfortable workspace.

rendering showing the exterior of the Concourse D

designed to serve more than 80 million passengers each year

construction completion is scheduled for late 2028

 

 

project info: 

 

name: Concurse D
leading design: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) | @skidmoreowingsmerrill

location: O’Hare International Airport, Chicago
cooperating architects: Ross Barney Architects | @r_barc, Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects | @jgma_insta, and Arup | @arupgroup
construction completion: 2028

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scientists discover iron-made crystal that can absorb, release, and breathe oxygen

Researchers develop iron-made crystal that breathes oxygen

 

Scientists from Pusan National University and Hokkaido University create an iron-made crystal material that can absorb, release, and breathe oxygen. Using a metal oxide composition containing strontium, iron, and cobalt, the chemical formula allows the material to perform oxygen exchange cycles without structural damage. 

 

The oxygen release process happens when researchers heat the crystal in controlled gas environments. The iron-made crystal expels oxygen atoms from its structure during this heating phase, and when conditions change, it absorbs oxygen atoms back into its structure. This cycle can repeat multiple times without degrading the crystal.

image courtesy of Kaboompics.com, via Pexels

 

 

metal oxide composition that works at lower temperatures

 

The reversible process keeps the iron-made crystal that breathes oxygen intact throughout the cycles and processes. This is a breakthrough because the scientists from the two universities state previous materials that performed similar functions often broke down after limited cycles. With their discovery, the material operates at lower temperatures than existing oxygen-controlling materials. Most current materials need extremely high temperatures for oxygen exchange, but with the new crystal, it works at lower temperatures than other materials.

 

The process affects only cobalt ions within the crystal structure, while the other metal ions remain unchanged during oxygen release and absorption cycles. It is this ‘selective’ behavior that creates a stable crystal formation, making the researcher’s material different from the original structure. When oxygen returns to the system, the crystal reverts to its initial form, proving that the process works in both directions without permanent changes.

image courtesy of Pixabay, via Pexels

 

 

Scientists test the material in smart windows

 

The research team has already tested the iron-made crystal that can breathe oxygen in smart windows. They’ve found out that the material changes transparency based on its oxygen content, with the oxygen-rich version appearing less transparent while the oxygen-depleted version showing increased transparency. Fuel cell applications represent a major potential use for this material, too. The solid oxide fuel cells convert hydrogen into electricity with minimal emissions, and the new crystal could improve fuel cell efficiency and durability.

 

The material works through controlled chemical reactions. Heating removes oxygen atoms from specific crystal positions, and cooling or changing gas composition allows oxygen atoms to return to these positions. The scientists also see applying the iron-made crystal that can breathe oxygen to electronic applications, which could include oxygen sensors and gas separation systems. So far, the research continues to improve the crystal composition and processing methods, as the team investigates variations in metal ratios to enhance performance. Their future research also attempts to explore additional applications and improve material performance for specific uses.

image courtesy of Castorly Stock, via Pexels

a schematic illustration of the oxygen-breathing in the new crystal | image courtesy of Professor Hyoungjeen Jeen from Pusan National University, Korea

 

 

project info:

 

name: Selective reduction in epitaxial SrFe0.5Co0.5O2.5 and its reversibility

scientists: Joonhyuk Lee, Yu-Seong Seo, Krishna Chaitanya Pitike, Gowoon Kim, Sangkyun Ryu, Hyeyun Chung, Su Ryang Park, Sangmoon Yoon, Younghak Kim, Valentino R. Cooper, Hiromichi Ohta, Jinhyung Cho, Hyoungjeen Jeen

institutions: Pusan National University, Hokkaido University | @pusan.ac.kr, @hokkaidouni

study: here 

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walk around mutek festival’s village numérique, a circuit of digital art installations in montreal

Montreal festival takes place across Quartier des Spectacles

 

Village Numérique forms part of MUTEK, a festival that focuses on electronic music and digital arts with performances across Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles. Running between August 19th and 24th, 2025, the cultural event operates for six consecutive days with programs and shows on audio and visual presentations. Esplanade Tranquille serves as the central hub for outdoor programming, while there are three venues hosting the main indoor one, namely The Society for Arts and Technology building, Place des Arts’ Théâtre Maisonneuve, and the MTELUS functions for presentations. In the same festival, the MUTEK Forum also takes place, which functions as a marketplace and discussion platform for digital creation professionals. Then, the Village Numérique, a public digital art project that takes place in the Quartier des Spectacles, with a circuit of 23 digital art installations. 

 

It runs beyond the event’s date, from August 14th to 28th, 2025, with digital art installations in several formats. In an interview with designboom, Alain Mongeau – the founder, artistic and general director of MUTEK – and Mikaël Frascadore – the executive producer of Village Numérique – explore the 26th edition’s theme on a new cycle of digital creativity, as well as some of the digital art installations presented at the circuit. ‘MUTEK has always been at the forefront of digital art dissemination, with special installation projects having been presented in the past. For this second edition of Village Numérique, we have expanded our offering with a greater diversity of media, more in-depth content, and more ways for the public to discover digital arts,’ Mikaël Frascadore tells designboom.

FLIP! by Troublemakers | all images courtesy of MUTEK and Village Numérique; photos by Tannaz Shirazi

 

 

Digital art installations around mutek’s village numérique

 

The digital art installations across Village Numérique include large wall projections showing digital images and moving visuals on building façades, interactive works that allow visitors to take part by moving, touching, or responding to sensors, virtual reality stations that use headsets and controllers to create digital environments, and immersive projects that combine sound, light, and moving images to surround the audience. At the festival’s Place de la Paix, The Door of the Refuge sets up an immersive passage that acts as an entry point for visitors, guiding them into a sanctuary-like space. Nearby at the Society for Arts and Technology, Astronomical Water mixes cosmic themes with water-inspired visuals and sound, using projection and movement to create flowing images.

 

The VS AI Street Fighting at Le Central allows visitors to engage in a simulated fight scenario where artificial intelligence responds to human movement, showing a contest between human players and machine systems. Moving underground to Saint-Laurent Station, ‘Wantastigan – what will remain still’ reflects on time and permanence through digital imagery, balancing static forms with shifting motion. In Le Parterre, a cluster of works appears. In Camera focuses on private perspectives, showing hidden or internal views through audiovisual sequences. I’M NOT A ROBOT examines the line between human and machine identity, asking viewers to engage with prompts about authenticity, while TETRA uses geometric design to project or display modular structures in three dimensions. 

Situational Compliance by Matthew Biederman and Lucas Paris

 

 

Technology-driven artworks on new cycle of creativity

 

The digital art installations at Village Numérique also showcase Situational Compliance, which responds directly to its surroundings, adjusting visuals and sounds based on audience movement. Public Space, Latent Space contrasts the visible city environment with hidden digital layers, connecting shared physical space with coded systems, while For You I Will Be An Island presents a narrative of separation, creating an enclosed environment where the visitor feels isolated within the work. Then, there’s FLIP!, which introduces constant reversals and rotations, using visual shifts to alter orientation and perspective. At Hexagram’s experimentation room, HEXAPHONE delivers six-channel sound, placing the audience inside a controlled audio field. Going to UQAM’s Agora, three works are staged: Éco-sonorités du vivant reproduces soundscapes from natural and biological sources, Storms immerses audiences in visual and sonic turbulence, and OPAL explores refraction, scattering light and color across surfaces. 

 

In the mezzanine of UQAM, NEST: Colony constructs an organic digital structure that simulates growth and collective form. Back to the Place des Arts, Dialogues invites interaction through conversational exchanges, with inputs creating shifting outputs, while Labyrinthe builds a maze-like path, encouraging physical navigation through digital corridors. Then in UQAM’s Chaufferie, Reflections uses mirrors and projection to create surfaces that invite contemplation and play with repetition of images. Some of these digital art installations at Village Numérique use high-resolution projectors, motion sensors, cameras, pressure plates, LED systems, and real-time rendering software, falling in line with this year’s theme on the new cycle of digital creativity. Our conversation below with Alain Mongeau and Mikaël Frascadore further unpacks the 26th edition of MUTEK festival, the curatorial process for selecting the presenting artists, and the over twenty digital installations in the Quartier des Spectacles.

detailed view of Situational Compliance by Matthew Biederman and Lucas Paris

 

 

Interview with Alain Mongeau and Mikaël Frascadore

 

Designboom (DB): This year marks the 26th edition of MUTEK, with the festival embarking on a ‘new cycle of digital creativity.’ What does this new cycle represent in terms of programming, vision, and MUTEK’s place in the global (electronic) arts scene? What kinds of experiences have you shaped for the attendees?

 

Alain Mongeau (AM): The idea of a ‘new cycle of digital creativity’ embodies both continuity and renewal. After celebrating our 25th anniversary last year, we felt it was the right moment to open a new chapter, one that recognizes how profoundly digital arts and electronic music have evolved and how MUTEK can continue to serve as a laboratory for what comes next. In terms of programming, this means delving even deeper into the intersections of music, immersive audiovisual works, and emerging technologies – AI, spatial sound, and beyond – while keeping live performance at the very heart of the festival. At the same time, we are broadening the ways in which new works can be presented, exemplified this year by the return of the Digital Village for its second edition. 

In camera by Ying Gao

 

 

AM (continues): Our vision is to reaffirm MUTEK as a meeting ground where experimentation, diversity, and critical reflection converge, offering audiences a singular aesthetic experience filled with discovery and wonder. On the global scene, MUTEK has long acted as a bridge: between generations, between local and international creators, and across disciplines. This new cycle reinforces our role as a platform where ambitious projects can find a stage, and where audiences can experience these innovations firsthand. 

 

This year, we have crafted a wide spectrum of experiences: intimate concerts, large-scale immersive performances, an open-air program in the bucolic setting of Théâtre de Verdure, thought-provoking daytime talks and workshops, and the serendipitous encounters that only a live, collective festival context can spark. Our aim is to inspire curiosity, engage multiple senses, and nurture a sense of community around the exploration of digital creativity.

The Door of the Refuge by Normal Studio

 

 

DB: This year’s lineup includes the North American premiere of Max Cooper’s Lattice 3D/AV and performances from Kevin Saunderson’s E-Dancer. What’s your curatorial process for selecting both global names and emerging voices? In what ways does the team’s selection allow the attendees to see, feel, and experience the relationship between the music and digital art?

 

AM: Our programming approach is rooted above all in the search for balance and dialogue between the different facets of the festival. On one hand, we are committed to inviting renowned figures such as Max Cooper or Kevin Saunderson, whose work in electronic music and digital art is exemplary. Their presence provides a strong anchor for the lineup, giving audiences the opportunity to experience ambitious projects by established artists in a live setting. At the same time, MUTEK has always been dedicated to discovery and to giving space to emerging artists who are pushing boundaries in their own ways. 

VS AI Street Fighting by Dimension Plus

 

 

AM (continues): We scan projects internationally, but we also place particular emphasis on the local scene, which is especially vibrant this year, for instance, our open call targeting Canadian artists received around 450 submissions. By placing young talents alongside established names, we create a dialogue that highlights both continuity and innovation within this artistic field. At the heart of it all is the focus on the live, sensory relationship between music and digital art.

 

We are drawn to works that engage audiences beyond sound alone: immersive audiovisual performances, experiments with 360° projections and spatialized sound, or hybrid formats that challenge conventional stage dynamics. The goal is to create an ecosystem of experiences where festival-goers don’t just listen, but also feel, see, and truly inhabit the artistic universe that each creator brings to life.

DB: Village Numérique was launched in 2024 to celebrate MUTEK’s 25th anniversary. What was the original inspiration behind creating a standalone digital art circuit within the festival, and how has that vision evolved for this second edition?

 

Mikaël Frascadore (MF): MUTEK has always been at the forefront of digital art dissemination, with special installation projects having been presented in the past. However, we felt that there was a real enthusiasm, but also an opportunity to showcase the enormous talent of local creators in a more formal context. Quebec is the birthplace of many highly innovative projects, artists, and studios. For this second edition, we have expanded our offering with a greater diversity of media, more in-depth content, and more ways for the public to discover digital arts. We want to develop audiences and contribute to the success of the industry.

NEST: Colony by Iregular

 

 

DB: This year’s Village Numérique features over twenty digital installations across Quartier des Spectacles. Can you walk us through how these works are presented? What kinds of tools, platforms, or experimental tech are being used by artists in this year’s program, if you can name a few, and how do they encourage interaction with the viewers, including those unfamiliar with digital art?

 

MF: There are indeed 28 installations spread across 23 venues. This year, several projects have been made possible thanks to university research projects. For instance, AI agents are used to generate content, analyze gestures, and translate them into actions. Audiovisual, networking, and computer integration are now at the heart of the means by which artists express themselves. The projects offer more targeted experiences, where people can interact directly with the content. Even when the works have multiple layers of complexity, newcomers can still find something to enjoy because the means of interaction remain intuitive. Users who want to go deeper can also do so.

For You I Will Be An Island by Chun Hua Catherine Dong

 

 

MF (continues): The artists have taken care to make their installations accessible in a variety of ways, despite the denser content or messages. For example, artist Matthew Biederman presents a project that repurposes the game ‘Simon Says’ to explore, with humor and insight, the mechanisms of public surveillance. Using AI and computer vision, the work stages a system that observes, interprets, and directs the actions of the audience, making visible the power dynamics at work in our digital environments. 

 

Participants are invited to follow simple instructions. Each posture performed becomes both an act of individuality and a negation of identity in a digitally mediated environment. The device places the body at the center of a game of control, between autonomy and algorithmic injunction.

view of a light-driven installation in the public space

 

project info:

 

name: MUTEK | @mutekmontreal

founder and general director: Alain Mongeau

location: Quartier des Spectacles in Montreal, Canada

dates: August 19th and 24th, 2025

 

circuit: Village Numérique | @village.numerique

executive producer: Mikaël Frascadore

dates: August 14th to 28th, 2025

photography: Tannaz Shirazi | @natourstudio

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swiss cheese mechanical keyboard types with caps shaped like grater, knives and jar of jam

Keycaps shapes like knives and jar of jam

 

The Swiss cheese mechanical keyboard has keycaps that look like a grater, a set of knives, and a jar of jam. Produced by DirkMcGirk using the Swiss Cheese mono font designed by Rob Meyerson, the device comes with 104 keycaps, which all resemble a block of Swiss cheese and its distinctive, natural holes. There are custom-shaped accent keys around it that hint at a charcuterie board: a mouse, a cheese grater and a set of knives, a wine bottle, and a jar of jam. The maker says, however, that these extra keys are under a different license, so users who want to build their own Swiss cheese mechanical keyboard need to get permission before using them or pay for them.

all images courtesy of DirkMcGirk, unless stated otherwise

 

 

Swiss cheese mechanical keyboard with mono font

 

The maker DirkMcGirk uses the mono font designed by Rob Meyerson for the Swiss cheese mechanical keyboard. In 2024, the designer created a series of yellow keys with holes around them, and the result gave him a font that is bold, square-shaped, and only has capital letters. He intentionally put the holes in specific areas to allow the letters to be visible when looked at, even if these letters come through clearer when the user views them from afar. The font is also monospaced, so every letter takes up the same amount of space as if it were on a typewriter.

 

The designer says that the Swiss cheese font used in the mechanical keyboard is meant for display, meaning it is much more ideal for paragraph and title use instead of typing long texts. From here, the maker DirkMcGirk uses these Swiss cheese-shaped keycaps and puts them on a mechanical keyboard, adding a set of accessories that complete the look of a functional charcuterie device. He says that at first, the small keycaps had a problem with bridging, or when the plastic stretches over a key gap, but when he changed the setting called Infill or Wall Overlap to 50 percent, the keycaps fit better. So far, the maker has uploaded how he built the Swiss cheese mechanical keyboard using Rob Meyerson’s design for users who want to create their own.

detailed view of the device

the typing tool has keycaps that look like a grater, a set of knives, and a jar of jam

the device is complete with a number keypad

knives keycaps for the command buttons

view of the bottle of wine and cheese grater keycaps

the mono font designed by Rob Meyerson

the holes are intentionally placed to let the letters stand out

 

project info:

 

name: Swiss cheese mechanical keyboard

designs: Dirk McGirk, Rob Meyerson | @robmeyerson, @heirloom

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