Synthetic Creatures

The exhibition traces fifty years of research by Rebecca Allen, pioneer of computer animation, exploring the role of the body in virtual worlds. Ever since the 1970s, the artist introduces the corporeity in a field hitherto dominated by pure abstraction and mathematical calculation, forcefully asserting that technology is never a neutral tool, but constantly requires a human and physical perspective.

The exhibition itinerary, set out within the spaces of the Gallery and the Immersive Room, traces the evolution of his pioneering work, starting with the first animations he created using punched cards right up to the most recent and sophisticated installations in virtual reality e artificial intelligence. In this way, the exhibition traces the key stages in the digital body representation, tackling both complex technical challenges and profound cultural and political issues.

The retrospective powerfully highlights the political dimension of Allen’s work, paying particular attention to the representation of the female body and a systematic critique of the view of technology as an exclusively neutral and masculine domain. Through her works, the artist anticipates themes that have now become central to contemporary debate, such as the’digital identity, the creation of avatar and the complex the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, offering visitors a profound, urgent and topical reflection on the indissoluble relationship between body, technology and perception.