IRIS van Herpen leads photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien and me into a cluttered storeroom and I shut the door. “Ooh!” we gasp, as we gaze at a board that van Herpen holds up in the darkness. Outside the room, the board looked much like a child’s glue painting, with silicone piping arranged on it in a maze-like pattern. But in the dark, the maze comes to life, glowing a gentle, aquatic green…
This article first appeared in Nature on 8 July 2025. To continue reading, click here.