Art Dubai 2025 Talks: What To Expect At Art Dubai Digital

by Alexandra Mansilla

Art Dubai 2025 Talks: What To Expect At Art Dubai Digital

18 Mar 2025

Jacopo Di Cera, Start, 2024, Mixed Media. Courtesy: Immaterika

As promised, ahead of Art Dubai, we are publishing a series of interviews with the curators of different sections — exploring the concepts behind each section and what we can expect to see this year. You can read our interview with BAWWABA curator (meaning ‘gateway’ in Arabic), Mirjam Varadinis, here. This piece is dedicated to the next section — Art Dubai Digital, curated by Gonzalo Herrero Delicado, a London-based curator currently working at the Serpentine Galleries and as an Associate Lecturer at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art.

What is Art Dubai Digital about this year? What questions does this section raise? Which artists should we pay special attention to? Let’s find out.

Gonzalo Herrero Delicado

— These words are taken from the description of this section on the Art Dubai website: "While technology may help meet future needs, what questions are artists asking of it today?" So, what are those questions?

— These questions cover a wide range of topics, from ecology to social and political issues. After reviewing the works selected by the participating galleries, a clear emphasis emerges on ecological activism, fostering empathy for nature and reconsidering the environmental impact of advanced technologies and human actions. This is particularly interesting when considering the largely unknown carbon footprint of the very technology used to create these artworks.

— The 2025 edition of Art Dubai Digital is titled "After the Technological Sublime," expanding the notion of the sublime to human-made technological marvels. Could you explain how this theme is reflected in the showcased artworks? Could you also share a few specific examples?

— In previous years, we have seen artists question the possibilities of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and robotics. The complexity of these technologies remains largely beyond our grasp, often evoking fear and anxiety — much like the vast natural forces that inspired artists in the 17th and 18th centuries when the term sublime was reclaimed. This year, however, the discourse has shifted. Rather than focusing on the medium itself, artists are using these technologies as tools to construct alternative narratives about the world around us, both in the present and the future.

CROSSLUCID, The Way of Flowers, 2023, UV prints on aluminium. Courtesy: Gazelli.io

— The exhibition explores both admiration and anxiety toward technological progress. How do the selected artworks capture this duality? Could you provide some specific examples?

— Some works are deeply rooted in the present, while others explore alternative realities — often dystopian. I am particularly interested in the works of Primavera De Filippi and CROSSLUCID, presented by Gazelli.io, which use advanced technology to reimagine alternative realities for the natural world. This approach closely aligns with the works of Fuse, presented by the Dubai-based gallery Sevil Dolmaci — a series of speculative natural species depicted in the style of traditional botanical drawings. Meanwhile, Can Büyükberber, presented by Sevil Dolmaci, artist Annibale Siconolfi, presented by Blackdove in partnership with Immaterika, and studio Six N. Five, presented by Pixel, offer AI-generated urban landscapes that blur the line between utopia and dystopia. Their works capture the tension between admiration and anxiety surrounding the impact of technological advancements.

— How does Art Dubai Digital 2025 compare to previous editions? Are there any major shifts in focus or presentation this year?

— The format remains similar to previous years, featuring a large exhibition showcasing selected galleries, collectives, and platforms alongside a public programme that delves deeper into the themes of After the Technological Sublime at the Digital Summit 2025, supported by Dubai Culture. A key addition this year is a series of commissioned installations — both indoors and outdoors — designed to create a more immersive and engaging experience with the theme. Furthermore, we have established new partnerships with cultural institutions and museums focused on digital culture, including HEK (House of Electronic Arts) in Basel, Switzerland, and Diriyah Art Futures in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.

Ouchhh Studio, H OM E OMOR PH ISM / CERN_DOME INSTALLATION, 2014-2017, Digital Installation. Courtesy: Ouchhh Studio

— Does Art Dubai Digital 2025 include works that challenge or critique the role of technology in contemporary society? If so, could you share some examples?

— Several commissioned installations explore the impact of technology, particularly on the natural environment. Ouchhh Studio returns to Art Dubai this year with MotherEarth, a large-scale AI-driven data sculpture that transforms raw climate data — including air quality, CO2 emissions, humidity levels, and temperature changes — into a vivid sensory experience. New York-based artist Breakfast presents "Carbon Wake", a digitally controlled kinetic installation that translates real-time energy data from cities worldwide into motion and interaction. By gathering energy production data from a different city every minute, the work visualises the impact of individual energy choices in a dynamic and tangible way. Other highlights include "Retreat", a work by Italian artist Jacopo Di Cera, which reflects on the urgent need for climate action. The piece captures the melting of the Brenva glacier in the Italian Alps through a striking four-meter-high installation featuring over 30 upcycled screens.

BREAKFAST, Carbon Wake, 2025, gold-tinted stainless steel, motors, software, camera, computer, 7 x 2.3m. Courtesy: BREAKFAST Studio

— What do you hope visitors will take away from this year’s exhibition? Do you see it as a space for reflection, discussion, or something else regarding the relationship between technology and art?

— The aim is to create a deeper experience that encourages visitors to embrace digital art as an established art form — not only with a significant presence in the art market but also as a field that is here to stay, offering new and unexpected ways to engage with art and reflect about the world, society and nature.

by Alexandra Mansilla