Refik Anadol to Present New Installation on Vegas’ Massive Orbital Sphere
“This media embedded into architecture has been my vision now for so many years.”
Refik Anadol‘s algorithmic installations are a fitting encapsulation of the craze around artificial intelligence. Made using millions of publicly sourced images, each artwork undulates at such breakneck speed, that in many ways, the work reflects the unnerving pace of social media, along with both the creativity and uncertainty ushered in by AI technology. Following his ongoing residency at Scorpios Mykonos, the Turkish new media artist will soon present work at the premier of the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The orbital structure features a 580,000-square-foot programmable LED screen that will serve as a giant billboard for touring artists and musicians, including U2 and Darren Aronofsky. As the inaugural artist enlisted, Anadol will debut a hallucinatory algorithmic installation specially made for the Sphere using images sourced from satellites, NASA’s Hubble Telescope, as well as publicly sourced images of flora and fauna.
Entitled “Machine Hallucinations: Sphere”, the installation is meant to transport viewers to “alternative realities,” the artist tells the Los Angeles Times. “To me, it’s questioning reality,” Anadol added. “[It’s] this incredible architectural form in public urban space and this incredible art form. We’re used to canvas and sculpture and paintings and video, but this time, the whole building is a canvas — and not one with corners. It’s challenging our perceptions. It’s a really powerful statement and experiment reinterpreting the limits of our understanding of what is a canvas.”
More than just a massive billboard, studio Populous designed the interior to include space for concerts, sporting events, and film premieres as a way “to redefine the future of entertainment,” added the group behind Sphere.
“This media embedded into architecture has been my vision now for so many years, since I watched Blade Runner at 8 years old,” Anadol mused. “Now I’m an artist visualizing the winds of Vegas and transforming the world’s largest screen into sculpture. I’m able to dream.” Located just a stones throw from the Venetian, “Machine Hallucinations: Sphere” debuts tomorrow, September 1, and will be on view for four months.
Elsewhere, THE SHOPHOUSE explores spirituality and transcendence in “Trioque” group show.
