Refik Anadol has used artificial intelligence to turn millions of photographs of New York into a mesmerising film.

Machine Hallucination was a cinematic experience derived from visual representations of urban memories of New York City as they are re-imagined by machine intelligence.

It included a 45-minute immersive cinematic experience, a process video that explained some of the behind-the-scenes techniques, and three data paintings from the series that were displayed just outside the exhibition space.

Revealing new connections between visual narrative, archival instinct and collective consciousness, the project generated a novel form of synthetic storytelling through its multi-layered manipulation of a vast visual archive beyond the conventional scope of the camera.

This project has been longlisted in the installation design project category of Dezeen Awards 2020.

Designer: Refik Anadol
Project: Machine Hallucination
Read more: Refik Anadol