Steel Spheres and Charcoal: Leonardo Garza Turns BYREDO Scents into Matter

Thousands of stainless steel spheres form a movable curtain across five curved glass fragments in Matter / Memory, the interactive installation Mexican designer Leonardo Garza built for BYREDO's official launch in Mexico.

Garza, working through his practice GARZA Studio, translated five of the brand's signature fragrances into physical materials rather than conventional visual representations of scent. Each fragrance becomes a distinct memory, reinterpreted through raw, tactile mediums and structured spatial experiences. The installation sits in Mexico City and was commissioned by BYREDO, with curation by Artsynonym.

How does a fragrance become a material?

Each of the five fragments pairs one BYREDO scent with a single substance:

• Gypsy Water — charcoal and ash, representing remains
• Rose of No Man's Land — fractured glass, standing for fragility
• Mojave Ghost — mineral dust, evoking survival
• Bal d'Afrique — red ochre earth, representing movement
• Blanche — folded white textile

The materials sit beneath a transparent surface. Visitors can't see them right away. That's the point.

What does the interaction actually involve?

Visitors physically shift the suspended steel spheres to gradually reveal what lies underneath. As the spheres move, their contact generates a subtle metallic soundscape, adding an acoustic layer to the encounter. The design frames the experience around the relationship between what is concealed and what is revealed — discovery happens through touch, not through a single glance.

A low veil of fog surrounds the whole composition, creating an atmospheric field where light, reflection, and material keep shifting. Photography by Noldo shows the curved geometry from above, the illuminated surfaces, and close-ups of mineral dust and charcoal partially hidden under the sphere curtain.

What does this change for BYREDO's arrival in Mexico?

For a fragrance house, selling a scent usually means bottles, testers, and print imagery. Matter / Memory replaces that with something visitors have to physically work through — pushing metal aside to reach charcoal, dust, or folded cloth. It treats scent as memory stored in matter, which is a sharper brand statement than any display case.

The project also reflects GARZA's ongoing interest in staging encounters between art and design, exploring new forms of expression across objects, furniture, and spatial installations. For Garza, whose studio moves across those scales, the commission extends a line of work where the visitor's body completes the piece.

Whether other luxury brands follow BYREDO's lead — commissioning interactive installations instead of conventional retail launches — may depend on how Mexico City receives this one.