Artist Theo Triantafyllidis Creates Giant Climbable Spider Combining Sculpture and Multiplayer Game

Image: Google · Source

Theo Triantafyllidis, winner of the 2026 Frieze Artist Award, designed a giant climbable spider sculpture linked to a multiplayer digital game, using Google AI to craft the game's visuals, promoting cooperation through physical and digital interaction.

In 2026, Athens-based artist Theo Triantafyllidis won the prestigious Frieze Artist Award, enabling him to realize an ambitious new work that blends physical sculpture with interactive digital gaming. The resulting project, titled "Feral Metaverse (Spider)," debuted at Frieze London from October 14 to 18, showcasing a massive, climbable spider structure that serves as both art installation and gateway to a shared online experience.

Triantafyllidis is known for his innovative combination of video games, performances, live simulations, and physical installations to create playful yet complex environments. For this project, the spider became a central metaphor, inspired by its reputation as one of nature’s original engineers—intelligent, intricate, and surprisingly tender.

From a distance, the enormous spider appears imposing, but its soft textures invite visitors to climb and interact. Participants must cooperate physically to ascend the sculpture, embodying the theme of mutual support and shared endeavor. Once aboard the spider’s legs, players enter the "Feral Metaverse," a multiplayer digital space where they collaborate, forming temporary collective bodies and extending the interactive experience beyond the physical.

To realize this multidisciplinary vision, Triantafyllidis assembled a diverse team including sculptors, textile designers, civil engineers, and game developers. A significant technological element was the incorporation of Google’s AI tool Gemini to assist in designing the game’s visual elements—character sketches, environment backdrops, and 3D renders. This AI collaboration helped translate digital concepts into tangible sculptural forms and shape the immersive quality of the game.

The project highlights how blending physical and digital realms can foster cooperation, presence, and warmth among participants, encouraging them to watch, advise, and learn from each other in both virtual and real spaces. Google Arts & Culture has documented the making of "Feral Metaverse (Spider)," providing insight into the creative process behind this innovative fusion of art and technology.

By merging sculptural installation with interactive gaming and AI-driven design, Theo Triantafyllidis’s work at Frieze London illustrates new possibilities for engaging audiences in cooperative play that transcends conventional boundaries between physical and digital experiences.