Suspended in space, illuminated like celestial bodies adrift in water, Plankton Temple is a sculptural light installation by Marsmallow Laser Feast that pays homage to the unseen forces shaping our planet. Each meticulously hand-blown glass form, crafted by Prosper Riba Vilardell, epitomise the intricate structures of plankton, organisms that are both microscopic and monumental, fragile yet fundamental to life on Earth.

Plankton are the quiet architects of existence. Generating oxygen, sustaining marine ecosystems, and fuelling the largest daily migration on the planet, these wanderers of the ocean drift through the planet’s water. Derived from the Greek words plankton (wanderer), zoon (animal), and phyton (plant), zooplankton and phytoplankton are microscopic marvels that sustain the world.

The sculptures are assembled to mirror Vertical Migration, the vast rhythmic movement where plankton ascend at night to feed and descend by day to evade predators, an unseen yet vital throb that fuels entire ecosystems. This movement is echoed in the arrangement of the glass forms, evoking the undulating ascent and retreat of these life forms. Their motion is further amplified by a shifting soundscape, composed by Antoine Bertin, who interlaces Arctic plankton recordings into an immersive auditory layer.