As a species, we have grown comfortable eradicating ecosystems to architect spaces, cordoning ourselves off from the natural world. Taking inspiration from nature, the mixed reality Medusa installation began with the questions: is there even such a thing as non-physical architecture? What is the function of architecture without physical form? It headlined the London Design Festival in 2021 at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Yoyo’s first book is an exploration into Medusa’s themes, ruminating on our changing relationship with architecture within the context of rapidly advancing technology and ongoing mass extinction. With a highly conceptual design embodying the book’s concept, it is an art object, employing multiple inks and papers and processes. Medusa includes fascinating conversations between Yoyo and James Bridle, artist and author of Ways of Being; Veronica Strang, cultural anthropologist and recipient of UNESCO’s Water Prize; and Seirian Sumner, behavioral ecologist and author of Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps. With a poetic contribution from Octavia Bright, poet, academic and author of Ragged Grace: A Memoir of Recovery and Renewal. Featuring shots of the installation and full of beautiful imagery, Medusa is a timely and moving artist’s book about climate grief.
