Sarah Montani × Swiss Discover
Floating Sculptures
on Swiss Lakes
Switzerland’s first augmented-reality sculpture trail across nine lakes.
Visible art. Invisible traces.
15 August 2026 to 15 May 2027
How it worksNine encounters
Each sculpture responds visually to its surroundings, turning the lake, the sky and the shoreline into part of the artwork.
Lake Geneva
Desert Sphere
46.4009°N · 6.4489°E
Lake Zürich
Weisser Granit
47.2260°N · 8.6570°E
Lake Lucerne
Intu Ink
47.0130°N · 8.4350°E
Lake Constance
Intu Ink 9
47.5900°N · 9.4200°E
Lake Lugano
Kaleidos Sphere Red
45.9700°N · 8.9700°E
Lake Maggiore
Kaleidos Sphere Silver
46.1560°N · 8.8000°E
Lake Neuchâtel
Metasphere I
46.9100°N · 6.8700°E
Lake Thun
Metasphere V
46.6800°N · 7.7150°E
Lake Zug
Ribbon Sphere Glass
47.1350°N · 8.4850°E
Imagine standing on the shore of a Swiss lake. Mountains rise in the distance, boats drift across the water. And suddenly, a monumental sculpture appears above the surface.
Welcome to Swiss Lakes Floating Sculptures, a digital art experience connecting nine Swiss lakes through nine unique augmented-reality sculptures. Created by Swiss artist Sarah Montani in collaboration with Swiss Discover, each sculpture is geolocated and can be discovered at its designated lake.
The works hover above the water, defy gravity and transform familiar landscapes into open-air galleries. From alpine panoramas to palm-lined promenades, every location creates a different encounter between art, technology and nature.
- No museum walls.
- No sculpture foundations.
- No app download.
How it works
Three steps, and no app to download.
- 01
Open the map on your phone
Unlock the pack once and the nine sculptures appear on your SwissDiscover map. No app installation is required.
- 02
Stand at the lake
Travel to one of the nine designated locations, open the sculpture and tap AR. It rises from the water through your screen.
- 03
Walk around it
Explore the work from different perspectives, take photographs or record videos, and share your discovery with the world.
No app required. Open a sculpture from the map and tap AR. On iPhone and iPad it launches in AR Quick Look; on Android in Google Scene Viewer. Each sculpture can also be saved straight into your trip.
Nine lakes. Nine sculptures.
One digital journey through Switzerland.
The collection
Lake Geneva
Desert Sphere
A dark, pitted sphere holds itself above the Léman, the alps lined up behind it. Only its reflection touches the water.
46.4009°N · 6.4489°E
Lake Zürich
Weisser Granit
White stone ribbons wind into a sphere above the basin. Below it the water rings outward, as if something had just passed through.
47.2260°N · 8.6570°E
Lake Lucerne
Intu Ink
A green-glass sphere rests low on the Vierwaldstättersee at dusk, level with the towers on the shore.
47.0130°N · 8.4350°E
Lake Constance
Intu Ink 9
A marbled grey sphere hangs at the edge of the village, doubled in the shallow water below the quay.
47.5900°N · 9.4200°E
Lake Lugano
Kaleidos Sphere Red
A crimson lattice turns above the Ceresio, its reflection bleeding red across the water in front of Lugano's promenade.
45.9700°N · 8.9700°E
Lake Maggiore
Kaleidos Sphere Silver
A woven silver shell stands in the water off the shore, tall enough to meet the campanile behind it.
46.1560°N · 8.8000°E
Lake Neuchâtel
Metasphere I
A pale cellular shell with a green core floats over the reed beds, where the lake thins into marsh and grass.
46.9100°N · 6.8700°E
Lake Thun
Metasphere V
An amber lattice opens onto a golden core, held above the Thunersee with the Bernese Oberland in the distance.
46.6800°N · 7.7150°E
Lake Zug
Ribbon Sphere Glass
Clear glass ribbons coil into a sphere over the Zugersee, almost dissolving into the grey water beneath it.
47.1350°N · 8.4850°E
Visible art. Invisible traces.
See Beyond the Surface.
Our Swiss lakes may look clear. But not everything in the water can be seen.
Microplastics enter the environment through discarded and degrading plastic waste, synthetic textiles and, above all, tyre wear. People are exposed to tiny plastic particles through food, drinks, the air we breathe and household dust. Exactly how much we absorb is still not fully understood.
Persistent chemicals such as PFAS are equally invisible to the naked eye. In Switzerland, they have been detected at almost one in two groundwater monitoring sites. Most measured concentrations remain below the limits currently in force, yet the findings reveal just how widely these highly persistent substances have already spread.
The digital sculptures leave no physical installation behind in the water. Instead, they draw attention to what is easily overlooked: beneath the surface lies a reality that usually remains beyond our view.
Art that gives back
50% of all ticket revenue is intended to support Swiss water protection, a commitment by the artist:
Aqua Viva
protecting and restoring Swiss waters
Eawag
Switzerland's leading aquatic research institute
IGSU
the Swiss Competence Centre against Littering
Regional initiatives
selected local lake-protection projects
The final allocation and all donations will be published transparently after the exhibition.
Sustainable by design
Art that leaves no physical footprint
The sculptures exist digitally. Nothing is installed in the water, no materials are transported between locations and no permanent structures remain in the landscape.
The result is a new kind of exhibition: site-specific, interactive, sustainable and accessible directly through your smartphone.
- Exhibition
- 15 August 2026 to 15 May 2027
- Access
- Through the SwissDiscover map, on your phone
- Recommended
- A smartphone with an internet connection, in daylight
Discover the invisible. See Switzerland differently.
Open the map, follow the sculptures, and see nine Swiss lakes in augmented reality.