Google plays with light ‘Making the Invisible Visible’ in Milan

Google plays with light with the ‘Making the Invisible Visible’ exhibition in Milan

Lachlan Tuczan's Google installation makes the invisible visible through luminous veils rippling through the mist. Shifting environments blur the boundaries between the tangible and intangible.

'Making the Invisible Visible' exhibition by Google in Milan - Photo by Google.

‘Making the Invisible Visible’ exhibition by Google in Milan – All photos by Google unless stated otherwise.

Design, Technology. At the Making the Invisible Visible exhibition in Milan, Google showed how abstract ideas are translated into tangible forms. Visitors walked into a space where light became an architectural element they could feel and ‘almost touch’, like an ethereal drape. Further, they could touch with their hands and understand the design development of the company’s products.

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Developed in collaboration with Ivy Ross, Google’s Chief Design Officer of Consumer Devices, and light and water artist Lachlan Turczan, Making the Invisible Visible shone a light on art and design as acts of alchemy that bring ideas.

In the first space, visitors could engage with Turczan’s latest artwork, Lucida (I–IV). This artwork features two-metre-wide fixtures suspended from the ceiling in a dark room where responsive light could be touched, inhabited, and felt.

Lasers combined with a concave parabolic mirror projected their light downwards. The room was filled with mist, causing the light reflected off the mirror to illuminate the floor and the tiny water droplets suspended in the air, creating a curtain-like effect. “As guests move through this light, their physical presence activates the work.” Lachlan Turczan told Archipanic.

“Light bends, flows, or solidifies into structured planes, responding with fluid dynamism. By giving light the qualities of physical matter, Lucida hints at a future where form no longer relies on physical mass but instead on energy and perception. Light, here, is not just seen—it becomes the very architecture of experience.”

Photo by Archipanic.

Further, guests could explore how light-based research influenced Google’s earbud design. Everyone has a unique ear shape. By projecting light onto thousands of auricles, Google engineers were able to map and develop the most ergonomic bean-shaped earbuds.

In the third and final space, Google showcased its entire hardware portfolio. Here, guests could dive deeper into the company’s inspirational and intentional approach to design.