Refik Anadol

Refik Anadol creates sculptures that focus on architectural data, particularly exhibited in public spaces during his early career. Over time, he shifts toward large-scale projects, continuing to showcase these works in public spaces, by processing data from various fields through artificial intelligence programs. Recently, Anadol focuses on the memory of machines—how they perceive and process data. In his signature projects, he collects all kinds of data, including visual, auditory, seismic, geographical, meteorological, and cultural data, in collaboration with major institutions such as NASA and Google. He then feeds this data into AI programs that work with algorithms specifically written for each project, using data that is unintentionally created while the world and humanity continue their existence. In doing so, the artist creates data sculptures that illustrate how the technology and machines we live with perceive and interpret data.

Anadol’s works address the challenges and possibilities brought about by ubiquitous computing and explore what it means to be human in the age of artificial intelligence. He explores how the perception of time and space is radically shifting in an era where machines dominate our everyday lives. The ways in which the digital age and machine intelligence allow for new aesthetic techniques to create enriched immersive environments that offer a dynamic perception of space intrigue Anadol. By proposing the possibility of “post-digital architecture,” he invites his audience to envision alternative realities by redefined functions of both interior and exterior architectural elements. This approach goes beyond the integration of media into built forms, aiming to translate the logic of new media technologies into art and design.