What is
motemo?

motemo is our box outside the box: a research platform dedicated to seeking answers to the question, “How do we, as a social and political organism, function and evolve?” We explore the relationship between individuals, communities, political structures, technology, and the natural world, and share our evolving ideas, sketches, and experiments. Motemo is a space for transformation, where boundaries dissolve and new insights into societal and environmental progress emerge.

mōtemo

motemo is a word we created to express how movement, change, and form are connected in everything we do. Each part of the name comes from an old language root, and together they describe our approach to research and creativity:

Motion

From the Proto-Indo-European root *meue, “mo” stands for movement — the act of pushing or shifting from one place to another.

te

Transformation

“Te” comes from the root *tere, which means crossing over or changing. It’s about the process of turning one thing into another.

mo

Form

The second “mo” relates to form, inspired by “morpheus.” It points to the shapes and structures that appear as things move and change.