Ex Machina takes us on a journey through an everyday object – the razor – that acts as a cultural, material and technological lens through which humans interact with their environment. A careful selection of objects from the Alfaro Hofmann collection explores how ideas of progress and environmental impact extend even to the most intimate bodily routines, and how design objects become vehicles for the values, colletive imaginaries and conflicts of an era.

The human fascination with novelty and the unknown provides the guiding thread of the exhibition. Each razor tells a story ot its own that, while unique, forms part of a shared narrative: humanity building itself through its objects. A particular finish recalls the history of the international ivory trade; a trade name or a carrying case can establish unexpected links with an ancient Egyptian sculpture; a mechanism inspired by watchmaking connects the objects to the space race. In this way, each piece reveals a network of historical, material, economic and cultural conections that transcends its original function.

Ex Machina is the fourth exhibition in the Design Now series, an initiative by the Palo Alto Foundation to explore the role of design and creativity in relation to the ethical, social, technological and environmental challenges that humanity faces today.