An interactive installation translating the rhythmic movement of jellyfish, inspired by the Pokémon Frillish, into light and motion. Created for the general public, the work was exhibited at White Night Ballarat and Melbourne Design Week.
A school of jellyfish moves in unison, expanding and contracting before freezing and flashing warning red against a sea of blue when startled by the presence of an observer. Driven by a slip-gear mechanism, the installation bobs up and down, while sensors trigger shifts in colour and motion in response to light and physical touch. Developed during a two-week intensive involving more than 100 Master of Architecture students, the project combined coding, Arduino-based systems, and rapid fabrication techniques to create a full-scale installation.
Developed prior to the formation of Martina Wylie Studio, this project continues to inform the studio’s ongoing work across playful interactive environments. Produced as part of a larger collaborative team, the role involved co-leading cable management during final development and installation. Responsibilities included planning cable distribution, determining cable quantities and lengths, and overseeing fabrication processes such as soldering, stripping, routing, and integration with LED and sensor networks, bridging design intent with on-site assembly.
The two-week design-and-build process unfolded across three phases:
Phase A focused on small-group experimentation, testing ideas through quick prototypes using fabric, gravity, and simple electronics to mimic the rise and fall of a jellyfish.
Phase B developed selected concepts further in larger teams, refining how mechanical systems, lighting, and interaction could operate together at a larger scale.
Phase C brought the full cohort together to produce a single installation, resolving the complexities of wiring, movement, and responsive behaviour to deliver the final exhibited piece.
Credits
Developed as part of a two-week design-build intensive involving over 100 Master of Architecture students. Project realised through the combined effort of the full student cohort across design, fabrication, coding, and assembly.
Full Cohort
Daniela Schnaidman, Ru Jia, Neisivikho Zutso, Gayan Munasinghe, Tongkai Liu, Jiangling Liao, Patricia Fagilde, Ruijun Li, Hanting Hong, Varsha Rajamudi, Kunling Han, Zehua He, Kenneth Gho, Xinyi Liu, Jiayun Ke, Catherine Demetriou, Shaowang Li, Stanley Wong, Eesha Jain, Jiarui Chang, Anthea Lui, Yuqing Zhou, Insu Kim, Xiangyi Xie, Qianya Qin, Xiyin Cao, Zhou Cheng Yu, Zi Han Wong, Chenlang Zou, Ada Shichan Liu, Cheng Chen, Yuan Chang, Holly Tepper, Martina Wylie, Henan Xie, Cutting Yang, Minsun Oh, Jiqi Chen, (Cas) Ying Dan, Melvin Xiaojie Tang, Weichen Zhang, Xueqi Shen, Jialiang Wei, Zhe Sheng, Sebastian Song, Jun Guo, Qiming Hu, Donghao Wang, Chenyang Feng, Siqi Duan, Seonghoon Lee, Xuyao Wang, Zongjing Yu, Tong Zhu, Jiayi Wang, Jonathan Leong, Han Li, Xiling Wen, Weiqiong Qiu, Leila Mottaghizadeh, Yifan Chen, Kayla Lim, Naidi Li, Siying Liu, Carmen Yuen, Nicolas Medler, Shi Wang, Ning Chien, Zeyu Li, Shan Wan, Jessica Wong, Olivia Potter, Lianhao Zhang, Yu Han Hou, Xiaodi Zhang, Feng Xiong, Derek Huynh, David Pesavento, Yue Zu, Fook Pin Lo, Ee Jay Loke, Mengqi Liu, Wu Di, Amelia Warhurst, Jiazun Zhang, Ramakrishnan Sekar, Linxin Yu, Yuehui Lin, Tianan Tao, Elliot Dunton, Wei Keat Poh, Chan Joshua Tig Hay, Rhoda Ruofeng Du, Xiao Zhang, Jordan Head, Siyu Cao, Nutthanee Banditakkarakul, Yao Yao, Xiaolei Su, Shiyu Gao, Nat Pornvarojanabun, Haoyu Ou, Alison Hui, Sebastian Song, Zhuojun Sun, Yue Gan, Lingyu Wang, Shengtao Du, Seonghoon Lee, Yu Lin, Ken Chen, Xiangjun Liao, Muy Troeung, Feroz Faz, Yiting Zeng, Shane Siy Cha, Jie Zhao, Lingwei Meng, Sam Horwood, Shida Zhu, Karen Dionisio-See, Amily Yitong Ai, Hongmin Wang, Marc Charles Friess, Xinyue Tan, Yanyu Su, Jason Lu, Di Hu, Pascal Marie, Yanan Yuan, Adrian Dong, Qunhe Yiew, Jia Qi Tan, Ziyi Liu, Jingwen Liu, Kevin Huynh, Jordan Stones, Yidan Li, James McCutchan
Tutors & Coordinators
Mond Qu, Jannette Le, Denis Vlieghe (Cube Zero), Sergei Maier, Michael Mack, Daniel Prohasky, Michael Collins, Nathania Widjanarko, Carl Areskoug, Jinwoo Jung
Fabrication Location: The University of Melbourne & UnitedMake
