ART DUBAI 2026 | DUBAI, 14.05.26 – 17.05.26

Inspired by the work of Dominic Michaelis, an English architect and inventor who came up with the technology for a solar-powered hot air balloon, Poetic Cosmos of the Breath is a time-based, experimental, solar dome that takes flight only under certain climatic conditions. It uses deceptively simple materials: a paper-thin foil accompanied by a few sandbags, and a handful of participants to produce a startlingly ethereal, shimmering effect. Staged at dawn, as temperature conditions naturally shift, air inside the balloon is heated by a greenhouse effect and the lightweight material slowly lifts off the ground completely unaided by machines or electrical power. At the same time, sunlight cast through the material creates a vibrant rainbow-tinged iridescent glow. Firstly commissioned by The Arts Catalyst in 2007 as a performative action at Gunpowder Park in Essex, the installation was later presented in 2013 at “Mobile M+: Inflation!”, Hong Kong as a temporary event occurring periodically during the show.