Marshmallow Laser Feast聽is聽no stranger to scale,聽nor to sensation. The acclaimed experiential collective, known for fusing art and technology into deeply immersive encounters,聽has聽built a reputation for revealing what lies beneath the surface of the visible world. Their works have transported audiences inside the bloodstream, through the lungs of a rainforest, and across the threshold of life and death itself. For Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture,聽it聽has聽turned聽its聽visionary lens toward the universe聽and,聽moreover, our place within it.
Opening at the National Science and Media Museum聽this spring,聽YOU:MATTER聽is one of the headline commissions for Bradford鈥檚 landmark cultural year. Running until February 2026, this multisensory installation is a journey through time, space and self. It’s聽an exploration of the building blocks that connect every living being to the fabric of the cosmos. The show invites visitors to 鈥渃ome and see what you鈥檙e made of,鈥 by quite literally making the invisible, visible.
As part of Bradford鈥檚 role as the UK City of Culture,聽YOU:MATTER聽is not just an art installation 鈥撀爄t is a bold statement of intent. The programme for 2025 is already establishing itself as one of the most ambitious in the award鈥檚 history. With a rich heritage as the world鈥檚 first UNESCO City of Film and a population where more than 25% of residents聽are under聽the age of聽20, Bradford is uniquely positioned to pioneer a new kind of cultural placemaking:聽one rooted in youth, diversity聽and innovation.
鈥淲e’re pleased to be collaborating with the National Science and Media Museum and Marshmallow Laser Feast on this exciting and thought-provoking installation that invites audiences to discover the profound connections between the universe and everyday life,鈥 says Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director at Bradford 2025. 鈥淭hrough immersive technology and Marshmallow Laser Feast’s innovative thinking,聽YOU:MATTER聽is the story of Bradford鈥檚 people and their place in the cosmos.鈥
This deeply sensorial experience unfolds through sound, video, data and interactivity. Visitors shift perspectives constantly聽鈥撀爁rom watching the Earth breathe via real NASA satellite data, to following the microscopic journey of a single drop of water. Immersive projections show how everything in our bodies, from carbon to calcium,聽originated in the stars. Interactive moments include a responsive digital forest and a playful biodiversity-themed selfie station, placing visitors within a living web of planetary life. What emerges is a poetic, scientific and utterly awe-inspiring portrait of interconnection. As Robin McNicholas, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Marshmallow Laser Feast, explains: 鈥YOU:MATTER聽is an invitation to see yourself as part of something vast-聽woven from the same cosmic fabric as the stars, the trees and the air we breathe. This experience reveals the hidden choreography of life’s building blocks, from the atomic scale to the planetary.鈥
That sense of choreography is at the heart of MLF鈥檚 approach. Drawing from science and storytelling in equal measure, they use cutting-edge technology to explore the choreography of atoms, the rhythms of life, and the ways we are all entangled with the聽world around us. Their work has been exhibited globally聽鈥撀爁rom Sundance to Seoul, Lisbon to London聽鈥撀爕et each project feels personal, immersive and rooted in a very human sense of wonder.
鈥YOU:MATTER聽inspires visitors to explore how everything in our universe can be traced back to the same cosmic explosion,鈥 reads the exhibition鈥檚 introduction. 鈥淭his experience shows the Big Bang wasn鈥檛 just a one-time thing 鈥 it鈥檚 still banging, right at the heart of Bradford and coursing through us and our surroundings.鈥
The museum itself, recently reopened following a once-in-a-generation 拢6 million transformation, is the perfect setting for this expansive installation. Its mission 鈥 to explore how media and technology shape our understanding of the world 鈥 resonates deeply with the themes of聽YOU:MATTER.
鈥淲e are super excited to be launching聽YOU:MATTER, created especially for Bradford 2025,鈥 says Jo Quinton-Tulloch, Director at the National Science and Media Museum. 鈥淭his amazing digital experience takes visitors on an unforgettable journey to explore their connection to the cosmos. We hope it sparks curiosity and leaves people with a renewed sense of wonder about their place in the universe long after they leave.鈥 Marshmallow Laser Feast describe themselves as a 鈥済littery slug trail through the cosmos,鈥 working across disciplines聽–聽from coders and poets to chemists and choreographers聽–聽to explore how technology can deepen our relationship with the natural world. Their projects consistently zoom in on the unseen, revealing the forces that shape life on Earth and our role within its ongoing story.
As Bradford鈥檚 year in the cultural spotlight continues,聽YOU:MATTER聽stands as a radiant centrepiece聽–聽a reminder of the power of art to transform how we see ourselves and each other. It is storytelling at its most elemental, drawing lines between the stardust in our bones and the galaxies overhead, the water we drink and the planet we share.
Bradford鈥檚 City of Culture year is more than a celebration 鈥 it鈥檚 a blueprint. It鈥檚 showing what placemaking can be when it’s built from the inside out, with creativity, community and young voices at its heart. In that context,聽YOU:MATTER聽feels less like a single exhibition, and more like a cosmic echo聽rippling out across time, space and the north of England. As McNicholas puts it: 鈥淲e want visitors to feel their connection to the past, present and future聽–聽not just as individuals, but as part of an ongoing story that stretches across time and space.聽YOU:MATTER聽is a reminder that you are not separate from the cosmos, but an extension of its story.鈥
In Bradford this year, culture isn鈥檛 just happening 鈥 it鈥檚 evolving聽YOU:MATTER聽is one聽the most significant shows in the UK this year. If you鈥檝e not been, get your ticket and head to Bradford now.
YOU:MATTER聽is at The National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, until 22 February 2026.
Words: Anna M眉ller
Image Credits: Marshmallow Laser Feast, YOU:MATTER, Bradford, 2025. Installation photos by James Medcraft.
