"Artist Meriem Bennani transforms the familiar flip-flop into a vibrating instrument of collective rhythm with her large-scale installation Sole Crushing, on view at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris until February 8th, 2026. The project fills the foundation's entire vertical space with 201 flip-flops animated by a pneumatic system and synchronized to a musical composition created in collaboration with musician and producer Reda Senhaji (aka Cheb Runner)."
"Originally presented at Fondazione Prada in Milan (find designboom's previous coverage ) and now entirely reimagined for Lafayette Anticipations, Sole Crushing becomes an immense polyphonic instrument. The installation invites visitors to wander through an organic environment of moving percussion instruments, including a sprawling island of sandals that crawl across the floor, vertical ladders and spiral structures covered in shoes, and a massive drum suspended from the top floor, commanding the whole ensemble. Each flip-flop, connected by two air tubes, strikes against materials like wood, plexiglass, fabric, or metal, producing a range of percussive tones that merge into a collective pulse."
"Meriem Bennani's rhythmic structure draws from Moroccan musical traditions, particularly dakka marrakchia, a ritual of drumming and chanting that builds to a peak of spiritual intensity. The Moroccan artist, together with Reda Senhaji, translates this energy into a contemporary orchestra, merging the hypnotic repetition of protest chants with the ecstatic cadence of football crowds and communal ceremonies. 'I try to recreate moments of collective catharsis, rituals, atmospheres of big stadiums, and chaotic states of exaltation or revolt,' Bennani says."
The installation fills an entire vertical foundation space with 201 flip-flops animated by a pneumatic system and synchronized to an original musical composition. Visitors wander among crawling islands of sandals, vertical ladders, spiral shoe-covered structures, and a massive suspended drum that anchors the ensemble. Each flip-flop, linked by two air tubes, strikes wood, plexiglass, fabric or metal to generate diverse percussive tones that coalesce into a collective pulse. Rhythmic structure draws from Moroccan traditions such as dakka marrakchia, blending ritual drumming, protest-like repetition, stadium chants and communal catharsis to recreate ecstatic, communal sonic atmospheres.
Read at designboom | architecture & design magazine
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