What’s Happening: At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s EMPAC media center, an installation by the multimedia artist deploys duvetyn and VR to illuminate our fear of the dark. Our contributor Jesse Dorris gave it a spin.

The Download: There’s a spaceship, called a space|ship, in one studio at EMPAC, the media center by Grimshaw Architects sitting like a space station at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, itself perched on a hilltop in Troy, New York. The space|ship sits in darkness, and it’s of darkness: its route is through colonial conceptions of the dark, and those who live and look like it, as dangerous; through investigations of how “dark matter” isn’t dark at all; through how society blankets Black, trans, and queer bodies in a terrified desire to make them invisible; through all this and into your own body so you can see yourself.

It’s the heart of Transtraterrestrial, an ambitious project by multidisciplinary artist Sage Ni’Ja Whitson that debuted at EMPAC on April 6. A culmination of a multi-year collaboration with curator Ashley Ferro-Murray, the show begins with a hushed entrance into the vast studio. A spotlight finds Whitson approaching a pile of collard greens and making them into percussion. During the performance, the space|ship beckons in shadows, but first Whitson takes a podium and addresses us, a dim spotlight illustrating their position.

Their welcoming offers a framework to experience what’s to come: “The blackest black is underneath my mother’s fingernails and is a pulpit hot in Ohio,” they say. “The blackest black is my gender transition and the making of myself; a corner store in Detroit or a bodega in Brooklyn.” Above them hang large palm sculptures, and if the mind initially drifts toward ideas of strange fruit, of the ongoing reality of lynching in America, Whitson installed them to lead the mind forward: “They are objects in space that become Black bodies in flight.”

We’re instructed to form small groups, to place one hand on each other’s shoulder, to allow Whitson to walk us backwards into the dark space|ship. The direction is influenced by their study of Yorùbá cosmology. “They walk into sacred spaces backwards,” Whitson says. “So the spiritual download is to treat the interiority of the spaceship as a sacred space.” In the studio under their warm authority, we encounter utter darkness. We lay down on drifts of cork. The absence of light is disembodying and comforting. Some found it disturbing. For people with hyper-monitored visual appearances, for people in Black and trans bodies especially, this might be an opportunity to have a moment in a body that isn’t seen, and see what happens.

And what happens is moving. Whitson built the space|ship with DNA Architecture + Design’s Valéry Augustin and EMPAC integration engineer Gordon Clement, and its contours gradually emerge as Whitson guides us through breath and brain prompts. Original geodesic concepts were too laden with allusions; here, they crafted triangular panels that shift in recession and protrusion. “It needed to read curvy, linear, and organic,” they say. “It needed to resemble a drum.” Composer Douglas R. Ewart and sound engineer Davu Seru helped build a resonant audio landscape to play it. It’s covered in duvetyn and tape, which form the blackout.

The blackout becomes a screen. Whitson collaborated with EMPAC VR technologist Joshua Ott on software that allows them to create VR effects on the walls and ceilings in real time. Vertiginous lines and geometric expanses melt the space, crack it, rebuild it, and throw the darkness into relief. After, we’re led into a studio for aftercare. A sofa offers a camera like a confessional; a long ream of paper is a page for remembrances. There are chairs in light and in shadow, and tea. We all remain there for a long time, resisting the urge to return to the real world. Fear of the dark is a dawning realization: what we might be afraid of is the light.

In Their Own Words: “The ways I’ve been trying to treat the dark, to treat darkness, is the way I want to support people to treat and rethink about Blackness,” Whitson says.

Surface Says: While the space|ship stayed just for one weekend, Whitson conceived it as a “prequel and premiere” for other landings globally. Take the trip.

Have a news story our readers need to see? Submit it here.

Reach the design world every morning. Find out more about advertising in the Design Dispatch.

Name: The Audley

Location: London

Designers: Luis Laplace, Here Design

On Offer: In 1888, fresh off finishing the Lord’s Cricket Ground pavilion’s exterior, Thomas Verity designed a stately Victorian building on a fashionable Mayfair corner. More recently, Hauser & Wirth co-founders Iwan and Manuela Wirth fell for the place. Their hospitality company Artfarm—itself fresh off opening The Fife Arms in Braemar and Somerset’s Roth & Bar Grill—has transformed Verity’s triumph into The Audley, five floors encompassing a trio of hospitality ventures and, of course, world-class art. They brought in Paris’s Luis Laplace as lead architect on the layered interiors. A ground-floor pub greets the public; a private restaurant sits above, with private dining and games rooms above that.

Standout Features: On the ground floor, The Audley Public House carries on the great pub tradition, while executive chef Jamie Shears updates culinary classics like Garden Pea Rice Porridge and London Rarebit with locally sourced ingredients at the Mount St. Restaurant upstairs. Four private dining spaces are known as “Curious Rooms,” themed in Swiss, Italian, Scottish, and Games iterations.

Here Design used jesmonite to recreate stone cast signage, and brought in Jack “Signwriting Jack” Hollands to hand-write gilded signs of the pub’s history. But given the owners’ backgrounds, the real draw is the art, which abounds throughout. Anj Smith hand-painted a take on tentacle erotica for the turret of the Games Room bar, while the late Phyllida Barlow crafted a mosaic of hand-painted paper for the pub’s ceiling. And for the Mount St. Restaurant floor, Rashid Johnson went for broke with a palladina mosaic called Broken Floor.

Nanimarquina is celebrating its 35th anniversary with new collaborations, new achievements in its longtime commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, and an elegant new showroom in the heart of New York’s Flatiron neighborhood in which to reflect on its past and its future. And there’s a lot to celebrate—the company’s founder Elena Marquina, who goes by Nani Marquina, has been recognized as one of Spain’s top female entrepreneurs and was honored with a National Culture Award from the government of Catalonia. Last year, the company earned Climate Neutral certification and expects to again this year and into the future.

The showroom is both a veritable celebration of these achievements and heralds an exciting next step for the Barcelona-based company. The 2,800-square-foot space fills one floor of an 1891 neo-Renaissance building, as does sunlight through extraordinary sets of curved and large-scale windows, many with their original frames. “We always look for spaces with soul and character,” Nani Marquina tells Surface. “A simple renovation can enhance the original elements and the history behind the space.” This approach kept as much of the extant architecture as possible, carving out open-plan seating areas for meeting and designing.

Last week, Virgin Hotels celebrated its long-awaited New York City debut with a full day of festivities. The celebration kicked off with Virgin founder Richard Branson—who had long dreamed of opening a hotel in the heart of Manhattan—welcoming an eager crowd on 30th Street to introduce Broadway star Colton Ryan’s performance of “New York, New York.” Spectators then counted down from 10 for Branson and Lam Group’s official ribbon cutting and confetti drop before flocking to the third-floor culinary space Everdene, where a Chinese Lion Dance, tarot card readers, and stilt walkers kept the party going.

When was it? April 4

Where was it? Virgin Hotels New York

Who was there? LaQuan Smith, Kouros Maghsoudi, Serena Goh, Ana Villafañe, Deryck Todd, Amber Valentine, and more.

When: Until July 2

Where: Musée Picasso, Paris

What: Last year, the New Museum staged a retrospective of Faith Ringgold’s Black feminist art, spanning nearly six decades of her work. This year, Musée Picasso offers the first presentation of the 92-year-old artist’s rich body of work in France. It showcases her reinterpretation of modern art history, struggles for civil rights, and contribution to Black feminist art, with highlights including the French Collection series. The show aims to refresh the museum’s collection on the 50th anniversary of Pablo Picasso’s death and appeal to younger audiences critical of his treatment of women and appropriation of African art.

Apple is gearing up to open its first flagship in Mumbai with hopes of expanding its production and sales in South Asia. Located in the Jio World Drive shopping mall, the store stands out thanks to stately architecture and an abundance of lighting, illuminating its geometric-shaped awning and banners obscuring the 22,000-square-foot interior. The logo notably features a flame-like figure and spades acting as shields—its rainbow colors and checkered racing patterns intentionally catch the eye. The store is slated to compete with its Chinese counterpart and marks the beginning of Apple’s focus on the Indian market, with plans underway to open a second retail outpost in New Delhi.

Most adults can relate to doing something slightly out of character after a few too many drinks, but what about making major purchases? According to the results from a new Finder survey about impulse buying while sauced (and anyone who’s explored the hilarious #DrunkShopping side of TikTok) the answer is a slurred “yes.” Most respondents admitted to fairly relatable spending—who hasn’t mistakenly overindulged in comfort food, a pricy new party dress, or a pack of Parliaments on a drunken whim?

Then there are more questionable buys that should require more sound logic, like new cars, artworks, and even four-legged friends. Thirty percent of high earners thought augmenting their art collection while impaired was a smart idea, but with an average spend of merely $116, these acquisitions were more likely a result of stumbling through the endless pages of Society6 prints than the high-stakes halls of Frieze or Art Basel.

Moooi doesn’t tell designers what to do. It listens to what designers want to make, and tries to realize their dreams. It’s eclectic, and always on the edge of commercial reality and cultural interest. The brand creates conversation pieces, which make any environment feel special.

Surface Says: Marcel Wanders and Casper Vissers hit on something brilliant when they launched their Dutch brand in 2001. Tapping the world’s biggest design names for their range of eclectic offerings, the Moooi brand is indeed as attractive as its name (adapted from the Dutch word for “beautiful”) implies.

Cruise ships may start looking drastically different in the next century.

We’re absolutely here for the high camp of these Barbie movie memes.

Reba McEntire is busy revitalizing the small town of Atoka, Oklahoma.

It’s Freezing in LA! returns with more audiobooks about climate change.