Mental Staircase

By leaning onto different approaches to exploring the domains of technology in light of natural phenomena, one artist and a duo, Moisés Mañas and Playmodes (Eloi Maduell and Santi Vilanova), present their works within the framework of the DISPLAY-UJI project at the multipurpose hall of the Paranimf at Universitat Jaume I. Under the title "Mental Staircase", the project emphasises the connection between the two seemingly unrelated themes – water and star constellation. Previously generated works encompassing video, sound, and have been reformulated according to the space, aiming to immerse the audiences into a poetic yet critically charged experience.

Marcel Duchamp’s painting "Nude Descending a Staircase" reflected increasing technological advancement and its impact on the human experience. From a contemporary perspective, this iconic 20th-century masterpiece seems like a static metaphor of the never-ending movement of our minds moderated by algorithms. Driven by the same task of addressing the ever-changed ways of seeing, especially nature, through this exhibition project, Mañas and Playmodes tend to underline that every aspect of our reality has become a matter of social and political competition in times when we are blinded by an endless flow of seemingly scientific data.

The exhibition is part of an ongoing collaboration between Universitat Jaume I, through the DISPLAY-UJI project, and the Cultural Centre of Belgrade. The project was first presented in 2025 at the Podroom Gallery of the Cultural Centre of Belgrade, with the support of the Embassy of Spain. Within the framework of the DISPLAY-UJI project, the exhibition is now articulated in 2026 in Castelló, in the multipurpose hall of the Paraninfo at Universitat Jaume I, as a situated reformulation in response to this context, thereby extending the exchange initiated between the two institutions.

Curators: Vladimir Bjeličić and Maya Marja Janković

Real-time data visualization/sonification
Custom software (JAVA, C++, Supercollider)
Videoprojection and multichannel sound

Constel·lacions transforms the celestial vault into a dynamic audiovisual canvas. A real-time cartography of Belgrade's night sky that turns the stars—now hidden beneath light pollution—into protagonists of a mathematical ballet. The system captures the coordinates of the hundred brightest stars above the viewer at each precise moment, weaving ephemeral connections between them that challenge historical interpretations of the firmament.

Periodically, a new generative pattern emerges, develops, and fades away. In the brief interlude before a new algorithmic creation appears, traditional astronomical constellations are revealed with their ancestral names, only to be quickly replaced by new imaginary configurations.

This dialogue between the commonly accepted sky and its possible visual and sonic interpretations invites us to reflect on how humans have organized and made sense of the universe. Through the classical quadrivium —the convergence of astronomy, geometry, mathematics, and music— the work recovers the primordial act of imagining stories from points of light, questioning what narratives and patterns we would create today if we could once again contemplate the night in all its depth.

Constel·lacions is both specific to the place where it is exhibited and universal; anchored in the present moment but connected to the atavistic tradition of looking up and finding meaning. It is an invitation to rediscover our capacity for abstraction and to question what cultural imprint we would leave on the firmament… if we were to look at the stars again…

Audiovisual installation generated with real-time data
Variable dimensions

The title comes from the Arabic concept of “Azarbe” + “Data”.

Azarbe: “The channel into which irrigation surpluses or seepage go through the irrigation ditches. channel, canal, irrigation ditch…”

Viver is a small town rich in natural and hydrographic heritage in the Alto Palancia region of Castellon (Spain). This work addresses coexistence and transmutation between the tangible heritage elements of Viver such as water, fountains, irrigation structures, etc. and the intangible, raw data of these same elements of planning and communication.

The result is an experimental audiovisual experience of visualisation of the data collected from this physical heritage (location, size, sections, shapes, etc.) recursively mixed with information on the socio-economic identity of the community of Viver (demographic and economic data, etc.) as an act of depatrimonialization in the context of technological and scientific understanding of the environment.