I saw the encounter between human and machine as the central drama of our time. 

The quality of our interaction with machines will largely define the quality of our lives. For what we have made, makes us.   

Myron Krueger

A few decades ago technology as we now know it, was not part of our lives; in any case, the feeling that something was going to change with the arrival of television, the conquest of space and computers, was already in the air... A fascinating promise of renewall, full of opportunities, loomed before us. Cyberspace, cyberculture, interactivity, global connection, the generation of digital sounds and images, artificial intelligence, robotics, the possibility of overcoming the limits of the body, etc., were about to become part of our daily life and language.

Could it be that this promise of freedom has only chained us more? The title DES_ILLUSIONES refers precisely to the link between those empty promises and their failure; it refers to how the great challenges of colonizing the Solar System or ending world hunger, to give just a few examples, have faded over time.

It’s true that scientific and technological advances are key to understanding the aesthetics of our century, and that science and technology have always evolved together throughout history. But, what about art? Some ancient cultures used a single word to express the three concepts in one. Aristotle defined art (tekne) as any human production with which a reality that did not exist, could be created.

Since ancient times, human beings have used all the tools available to create. Looking back to the 15th and 16th centuries we find in Leonardo Da Vinci the quintessential example of the Renaissance and integration of all disciplines. We are currently experiencing a second artistic Renaissance as many artists unify various disciplines in their work - from biology to robotics, including artificial intelligence and augmented reality. Such is the case in the work of  Nourathar Studio, TONDOsmiling, Miguel Mas, Fran Pérez Rus, Noé Serrano, Moon Armada and Verónica Peña. At Des_Ilusiones these artists will make us reflect, not only about the future of computers and technology, but rather about what or who we will become.