

droog turns the museum of sex into an interactive, erotic campground

photo by paul barbera

while we often think of museums as sophisticated spaces for art appreciation, contemplation and critique, new york’s museum of sex coaxes visitors to think differently about creativity. every year, MoSex commissions an artist, designer or innovator to create an exhibition that involves gallery-goers in an engaging physical experience. this edition invited the amsterdam-based studio droog to interpret themes of intimacy and sexuality through a series of sensory, spatial and experiential installations. ‘splendor in the grass’ transforms the museum into an immersive erotic campground, with five interactive tents activating visitors’ visual, auditory and kinesthetic senses.



installation view of ‘splendor in the grass’ at the museum of sex in new york

photo by paul barbera

the five tents placed within the exhibition space each engage the senses in different ways, seducing visitors to participate through a variety of auditory, olfactory, and visual stimulants.

for ‘grass girl arouses’, participants are asked to climb into a glowing sheltered space and touch a sculptural ‘grass girl’ that illuminates when gently caressed; ‘autoerotic kinesthesia’ prompts those within to explore and appreciate their own body while immersed within mirrored kaleidoscope; ‘pneumatic kinesthesia’ instead asks visitors to experience the tent in pairs or groups, engaging them in intimate body positions; the ‘ice oven challenge’ tent is a colorful thermal exploration of sex, body heat and heartbeat; ‘wetten your appetite’ entangles entrants in a cloud-chamber of pheromones, scent and steam. designed to express the visceral relationship humans innately share with nature and eroticism, these intimate spaces form a surreal adult-playground that connect viewers to the various phases of human sexuality.



‘ice oven challenge’ presents a colorful, thermal exploration of sex

photo by paul barbera



the ‘ice oven challenge’ tent changes colors in response to basal body temperature

photo by paul barbera



‘grass girl arouses’ features a sleeping sculpture within an intimate glowing interior

photo by paul barbera



visitors are asked to enter and touch the glowing ‘grass girl’

photo by paul barbera



‘autoerotic kinesthesia’ immerses visitors in a maze of mirrored reflections

photo by paul barbera



the installation ‘autoerotic kinesthesia’ invites viewers to explore and appreciate their body

photo by becky mcneel



‘wetten your appetite’ hides a steamy and sensual experience within

photo by becky mcneel



a feverish cloud-chamber of scent and steam surrounds visitors within ‘wetten your appetite’

photo by paul barbera



‘pneumatic kinesthesia’ asks entrants to engage in various body positions

photo by paul barbera