Sara Ricciardi's Inflatable Serotonin Installation at Milan Design Week 2026

During Milan Design Week 2026, designer Sara Ricciardi presented 'Serotonin – the chemistry of happiness', an immersive, site-specific installation at the Accademia di Brera. The work transformed the concept of serotonin—a brain chemical regulating mood—into a sensory experience with colorful, bulbous inflatable structures that expanded and contracted like a heartbeat, accompanied by light and sound. Commissioned by American Express, the installation contrasted Ricciardi's organic forms with the academy's stone archways and statues. On view from April 21 to April 26, 2026, the piece invited visitors to step among monumental forms, evoking euphoria. Ricciardi described it as an organism to be experienced from within, dissolving visitors into color and pattern, dialoguing with Brera's Loggia and statues. She noted that happiness is a temporary wave, with too much serotonin confusing and too little dimming.