We’re talking about the all-white art installation on the ground floor of Central Embassy. New York-based design studio Snarkitecture imitates the beach experience with a sea of white balls representing water, mirrors as the infinite horizon, plus a host of other elements you would normally see on the beach. You’ve probably been in a ball pit at least once in your life. This one is different, though. You won’t instantly sink to the bottom when you jump in, but will end up “floating” instead. The balls are antibacterial so you can jump in, “swim,” and chill with no worries of getting cooties.
The design
The Beach is designed by Snarkitecture, a New York-based collaborative consisting of three masterminds—Daniel Arsham, Alex Mustonen and Benjamin Porto. This multi-disciplinary firm uses architectural, interior and installation design to reinterpret everyday items and create unique experiences. Their other famous installations include Marble Run, exhibited at Art Basel Miami in 2014, and ComplexCon, exhibited at Long Beach, California in 2016.
The Beach
The Beach was first introduced in Washington D.C in 2015 as part of a collaboration with the National Building Museum. Prior to Bangkok, the installation was showcased in Florida and Sydney. Porto reveals that its all-white palette allows you to pay attention to “the texture and the sound” and feel like you’ve “become part of the environment.”
The balls
When it was first introduced in Washington D.C., The Beach comprised a million semi-transparent, antimicrobial balls. But because of the smaller space, the installation in Bangkok features only about 300,000 balls. The balls are recyclable and are cleaned each time before being installed. Next stop will be a city in Europe, before the balls—possibly—return to Southeast Asia and then America.