Jason Bruges was born in 1972 and trained as an architect at Oxford Brooks University and University College London. He opened the Jason Bruges Studio in 2001 with a team of architects, lighting designers and specialists in interactive and industrial design. The studio is now known internationally for creating works that sit between the worlds of architecture and interactive design, with projects ranging from large scale building facades and public art, to interactive interior environments and products.

For Pandamonium 1, Jason Bruges Studio created a plinth-based artwork consisting of 100 rotating captive pandas. Arranged in a 10 x 10 configuration, they detect a viewer’s presence, and track human movement in unison. Rotating towards us, their confrontational stare is slightly unnerving and urges viewers to consider their impact upon the environment. In an abstract way of engaging public thought, the pandas are controlled by servo motors, which rotate at precise increments. Linked to an ARM microprocessor, their position changes according to a live image feed from a thermal camera, mounted overhead.