All That Moves Us is an installation by artist Lisa B. Woods with guidance from Dr. José Alvarado’s research lab (ALAB) in the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at UT Austin.

The work integrates kinetic sculptures, a video, and a wall drawing that together explore motion, sensing, and adaptation—core themes in ALAB’s MRSEC-supported biophysics research. Fabrication support was provided by Ayushi Kate and J.E. Johnson at Texas Inventionworks.

The machines draw on scientific lineages in non-equilibrium thermodynamics, referencing the soft matter studies of Pierre-Gilles de Gennes and the active-matter theories of M. Cristina Marchetti, paired with the artist’s reflections on ecological stress and resilience. One sculpture uses birefringence to reveal deformation in soft materials, while another imagines microbial swarming as a way to break down marine oil spills. The video responds to viewer proximity and is informed by the paper Control Across Scales: Signals, Information, and Adaptive Biological Mechanical Function.

A hand-drawn “Lévy flight” links the components, marking points of research, experimentation, and possibility. Together, All That Moves Us highlights the curiosity and collaborative spirit shared by art and science.