Marking a departure into performative sculpture and experiential design, in 2017 Du Preez & Thornton-Jones conceived and designed the animatronic robot central to the KIMONO ROBOTO exhibition in Tokyo, as well a plethora of additional artworks contextualising the concept. The show – a future-facing tribute to the symbolism and legacy of the iconic Japanese garment – united a host of influential international creatives including Björk, Peter Lindbergh and Koichiro Doi via works melding visuals, sound and motion. Du Preez & Thornton Jones worked closely on the staging of the exhibition with pioneering French show producer Alexandre de Betak, creating not only the gilded ‘hero’ robot, but the show’s promotional campaign visuals and a series of films of the robotic installation, immortalising it’s eerily humanistic movements in beguiling detail.