Barco, the technology company focusing on innovative visualization solutions, has provided its digital projection technology for the Machine Memoirs: Space exhibition at the Istanbul Pilevneli Gallery, by Turkish-American new media artist and designer, Refik Anadol.
The immersive exhibition brings together AI algorithms, data visualisation techniques and human creativity, and is powered by 18 3-chip DLP digital projectors from Barco, resulting in quality images and vivid colour. Over 40,000 people visited the exhibition in the first four weeks.
Using data from space
Anadol’s unique exhibition was inspired by his recent collaboration with NASA JPL. It uses publicly available space data, collected by NASA, turned into an immersive projection by his bespoke algorithm and pigmentation techniques. The result is what the artist calls AI cinema, saying:
“I asked myself: if machines can learn, can they also dream? And could artificial intelligence become a tool for creativity? Could it be a partner in our journey of telling visual stories?”
Anadol has worked with Barco tech before, for a 2010 exhibition in Istanbul. Other notable exhibitions by the artist are 2018’s WDCH Dreams at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and Machine Hallucinations at ARTECHOUSE in New York City. For this project, Barco’s 3-chip DLP digital projectors were chosen for their vivid colours, rich contrast and high colour stability.
Exceptional colour and brightness
In creating Machine Memoirs: Space, Anadol says he wanted to bring more than just shiny pixels, more depth and imagination:
“I am not interested in the material quality of architecture. What I try to envision in my work needs brilliance. That’s why I am obsessed with exceptional colour and brightness, and the quality of the technology, therefore, needs to be exceptional as well.”
For Machine Memoirs: Space, every visual needed to be in line with the physical space of the Pilevneli Gallery – each pixel has a specific place in the venue:
“That’s why we wanted it to be as perfect as possible, and that’s why we chose Barco. I am very ambitious about lighting conditions and colours. My team and I use the most advanced algorithms, and we spend thousands of hours computing the data. If we raise the bar this high, then why would we want to visualize our work with below-standard technology?”
As the museum and gallery sector begins to recover in the wake of COVID-19, Barco’s technology helped to ensure the show’s debut was a success, presenting Anadol’s vision in the best way.
“Over the years, I have come to know the high quality of Barco projectors very well,” he says. “Once you have learned about the quality of this technology, it’s very difficult to unlearn it. As an innovator myself, I want to work with innovative companies like Barco. Pioneers always have a connection with pioneers; that’s not a coincidence.”
The exhibition was also made possible by Turkish AV partner Reflection Production and by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Last month, Barco launched the next generation of its high-brightness UniSee LCD video wall.
Images courtesy of Refik Anadol Studio
