Floating Sculptures on Swiss Lakes: Switzerland’s first augmented-reality sculpture trail across nine lakes
Visible art. Invisible traces.
August 15, 2026 to Mai 15, 2027
Floating Sculptures on Swiss Lakes
A digital art journey exploring the invisible traces of microplastics and PFAS beneath the surface of Switzerland’s lakes.
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 X Swissdiscover.com, 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.
No museum walls. No sculpture foundations. No app download.
Simply visit swissdiscover.com on your smartphone, go to one of the participating locations and let the artwork appear within the real landscape. Walk around it, explore it from different perspectives and capture your own photographs and videos.
Nine lakes. Nine sculptures. One digital journey through Switzerland.
From alpine panoramas to palm-lined promenades, every location creates a different encounter between art, technology and nature. Each sculpture responds visually to its surroundings, turning the lake, the sky and the shoreline into part of the artwork.
Discover the sculptures at:
Lake Geneva · Lake Neuchâtel · Lake Thun · Lake Lucerne · Lake Zug · Lake Zurich · Lake Constance · Lake Lugano · Lake Maggiore
Lake Geneva · Lake Neuchâtel · Lake Thun · Lake Lucerne · Lake Zug · Lake Zurich · Lake Constance · Lake Lugano · Lake Maggiore
Lake Geneva · Lake Neuchâtel · Lake Thun · Lake Lucerne · Lake Zug · Lake Zurich · Lake Constance · Lake Lugano · Lake Maggiore
See Beyond the Surface.
Visible art. Invisible traces.
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:
Aqua Viva — protecting and restoring Swiss waters
Eawag — Switzerland’s leading aquatic research institute
IGSU — the Swiss Competence Centre against Littering
Selected regional lake-protection initiatives
The final allocation and all donations will be published transparently after the exhibition.
A digital art journey exploring the invisible traces of microplastics and PFAS beneath the surface of Switzerland’s lakes.
How it works
Open swissdiscover.com on your AR-compatible smartphone.
Choose https://swissdiscover.com/swisslakes and activate the sculpture at the designated location.
No app installation is required.
Move around the sculpture, take photographs or record videos — and share your discovery with the world.
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 – 15 Mai 2027
Digital admission: CHF 15.–
Access: swissdiscover.com
Recommended: Smartphone with internet connection and daylight conditions
Discover the invisible. See Switzerland differently.
Start your journey at https://swissdiscover.com/swisslakes
