Gluon presents The Falling City this spring – a solo exhibition by Noémi Iglesias that critically examines the increasing role of AI technology in surveillance and control.
In collaboration with Gluon, Superlinear, the League for Human Rights, the Knowledge Centre for Data and Society, and Ancienne Belgique, Iglesias developed an artistic AI system that does not exert control but instead detects affective relationships between people.
Traditionally, surveillance systems are aimed at monitoring our public spaces, often focusing on potentially dangerous or inappropriate behavior. The Falling City reverses this paradigm through an artistic AI system that refrains from control and instead observes emotional connections between people—such as walking together, kissing, hugging, or holding hands.
The data collected forms the basis of two artworks that together create an emotional map of the city of Brussels.
The results of The Falling City take the shape of AI-driven light installations and data visualizations that map emotional interactions in the city. The first artwork is a newly developed digital counting mechanism that registers affection in public space and provides a real-time visualization of human connection. The second is an interactive light sculpture made up of hand-blown glass objects, in which the collected data is transformed into a poetic, colorful, and immersive representation of love in the city.
For this exhibition, two intelligent cameras will be installed at the entrance of Ancienne Belgique. The data gathered by these cameras will be sent in real time to the light sculptures installed in Gluon’s exhibition space, with the goal of offering a real-time visualization of human connection in the city.
The official opening takes place on Thursday, April 24th from 5 PM to 9 PM.
During Art Brussels, we will participate in the nocturne on Friday, April 25th from 2 PM to 9 PM.
ABOUT NOEMI IGLESIAS BARRIOS
Noemi Iglesias Barrios (Spain, °1987) is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in porcelain sculptures and performative formats. Her practice explores the intersection between traditional porcelain sculpture and digital technologies, examining how emotional experiences—such as falling in love—are influenced by capitalist and consumerist strategies.
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Gimhae Clayarch Museum (South Korea), the Yingge Ceramics Museum, the MOCA Contemporary Art Museum (Taiwan), and iMAL – Center for Digital Culture and Technologies (Belgium). She recently presented her first solo exhibition Love me Fast at the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza (Spain).
