Bvlgari’s iconic serpent leaves the jewellery box for the New York landscape with auruBOROS – Urban Memory and Collective Dream, the house’s first public art installation in the United States. Created by Berlin-based duo Plastique Fantastique, the monumental work continues Bvlgari’s Serpenti Infinito project and will occupy the High Line at Little West 12th Street from September 10th to 20th, 2026.
A golden serpent emerges beneath the standard
Conceived by artists Marco Canevacci and Yena Young, auruBOROS takes the form of enormous golden coils rising from beneath The Standard hotel before threading through the elevated park. Measuring 33 feet, its pneumatic body bridges architecture and public art, its mirror-like surface catching the surrounding buildings, vegetation, visitors, shifting light and sky.
Known for large-scale inflatable environments, Plastique Fantastique uses air as both structure and creative medium. Here, the technique lends unexpected lightness to the monumental form, allowing its golden surface to shift with the city around it.
Ouroboros symbolism meets the Serpenti legacy
The installation draws on the ancient ouroboros, the serpent consuming its own tail, traditionally associated with cycles, continuity and renewal. Its name combines aurum, Latin for gold, with ouroboros, expanding the circular symbol into an expansive urban form.
The serpent moves beyond a closed loop, absorbing its surroundings as part of the artwork. It also extends the visual language of Bvlgari’s Serpenti Infinito, which has brought the house’s enduring serpent motif into dialogue with contemporary artists in cities including Shanghai, Seoul and Mumbai.
Photography by TIMOTHY SCHENCK
