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Athens-based artist Theo Triantafyllidis, winner of the 2026 Frieze Artist Award, will present Feral Metaverse (Spider), 2026, at Frieze London. The work pairs a climbable spider sculpture with a multiplayer digital environment; Google says Gemini was used during the project’s design process.
Athens-based artist Theo Triantafyllidis, recipient of the 2026 Frieze Artist Award, will present a climbable giant spider sculpture linked to a live multiplayer game at Frieze London. The project, titled Feral Metaverse (Spider), 2026, is scheduled to be shown in Regent’s Park from October 14 to 18, according to an October 6 announcement from Google Arts & Culture.
The installation combines a physical spider-shaped structure with a shared digital environment. Visitors are invited to help one another climb the sculpture; once aboard its legs, they enter the game, where participants can move and cooperate. Google’s account describes the experience as moving between a screen and the exhibition booth, linking bodily interaction with online play.
The award enabled Triantafyllidis to expand the project team, which included sculptors, fabricators, textile designers, game developers and civil engineers. Google says the group used its Gemini AI system during the creative process to generate sketches, character designs, backdrops and 3D renders. The announcement does not describe the system as having built the sculpture or game independently.
The Frieze Artist Award supports artists developing ambitious new work, the announcement says. The 2026 project is co-commissioned and co-produced with Forma in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture. The report presents the work as participatory: visitors are expected to watch each other, exchange advice and learn together, rather than simply view a finished object.
The project puts physical participation and multiplayer digital play in the same artwork. Visitors are not described as passive spectators: climbing requires mutual help, while the virtual component asks players to coordinate and respond to one another. That format makes the installation relevant to discussions about how galleries and art fairs can use games and interactive technology to shape audience involvement.
It also offers a specific example of generative AI entering an art-production workflow. Google says Gemini contributed visual material used to shape the game’s look and feel. That is a company description of the tool’s role, not an independent evaluation of how much it affected the final work. The available account gives no breakdown of which elements were AI-generated, how they were revised, or how much of the finished design came from the artist and other team members.
For visitors, the work’s central proposition appears to be cooperation across settings: people physically assist one another on the sculpture and then act together in a digital world. Whether that translates into a smooth or accessible experience will depend on how the installation operates in practice, details that have not been provided in the announcement.
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The Artist Award and Project
Frieze’s annual artist award supports an artist in making a new work for presentation at the fair. Triantafyllidis works across video games, live simulations, performance and physical installation, according to Google Arts & Culture. The organization describes his practice as building playful worlds that explore complex phenomena.
The announcement frames the spider as the project’s central figure. Triantafyllidis called spiders “the original engineers,” and the report characterizes the creature as a way to explore physical contact, cooperation and play. The work’s title, Feral Metaverse (Spider), connects that figure to a multiplayer digital setting, though the announcement does not provide a detailed account of the game’s rules or narrative.
The work is due to appear at Frieze London in The Regent’s Park from October 14 through October 18, 2026. Google’s post, published October 6, is the source for the project description, team details and stated use of Gemini. It also directs readers to Google Arts & Culture for additional material about how the work was made.
““Spiders are the original engineers.””
— Theo Triantafyllidis, as quoted in Google Arts & Culture’s announcement
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Details Awaiting the Fair
The announcement does not say how many visitors can climb the sculpture at once, whether advance booking is required, or what safety and accessibility arrangements will be in place. It also does not specify the game’s platform, hardware, duration, number of simultaneous players or whether the digital component can be experienced without climbing.
The extent of Gemini’s contribution is also not detailed. Google lists sketches, character designs, backdrops and 3D renders among the materials generated with the system, but does not identify which appear in the finished work or explain how they were selected and altered. No independent account of the production process is included in the source material.
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Frieze London Opens October 14
Feral Metaverse (Spider), 2026 is scheduled to be on view at Frieze London in Regent’s Park from October 14 to 18. Visitors will be able to see how the sculpture and multiplayer game connect in the fair setting. Google Arts & Culture says it will provide more information about the making of the project, but the announcement gives no further release schedule or technical specifications.
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Key Questions
Who built the giant spider artwork?
Theo Triantafyllidis, an Athens-based artist and the 2026 Frieze Artist Award recipient, created Feral Metaverse (Spider), 2026, with a team that included sculptors, fabricators, textile designers, game developers and civil engineers.
What is Feral Metaverse (Spider)?
It is a participatory artwork combining a climbable spider sculpture with a live multiplayer game set in a shared digital environment. Visitors are invited to help one another climb and then cooperate in the virtual space.
When and where can visitors see it?
The work is scheduled for Frieze London in The Regent’s Park, October 14–18, 2026.
Did AI create the sculpture?
The announcement does not say that AI created the sculpture. Google Arts & Culture says the team used Gemini to generate visual development material, including sketches, character designs, backdrops and 3D renders.
What details about the visitor experience are still unknown?
The announcement does not specify the number of players, game duration, technical setup, booking arrangements, or the sculpture’s safety and accessibility provisions.
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