The Models is an interactive installation developed by the London-based duo dmstfctn during an artist residency at the DAMA – Tecnopolo Manifattura Data Valley Hub in Bologna. The work originated from a challenge launched by Sineglossa as part of the European Digital Deal project, focused on the theme of fake news: is it possible to counter conspiracy theories through the sense of wonder created by artists?
The challenge is inspired by a thesis found in the Wu Ming 1 book Q of Conspiracy, which argues that such fantasies spread because human beings are more drawn to stories that evoke awe and wonder than to scientific texts or reports. From this starting point, dmstfctn decided to combine wonder and truth through an installation that, drawing on the cultural heritage of the museums in the Emilia-Romagna Region, stages digital masks animated in a 3D engine, capable of endlessly improvising theatrical sketches in the style of the Commedia dell’Arte.
These performances are guided by AI models fine-tuned by the artists using the Leonardo Supercomputer—models that, with scripts inspired by classical archetypes, bring to life characters who scheme, invent truths, spread rumors, or make trivial mistakes. These characters embody both the archetypal traits of masks like Harlequin, Doctor Balanzone, Colombina, Pantalone, Brighella, and Pulcinella, and the behavioral tendencies—sometimes deceptive and antagonistic, at other times overly friendly or servile—seen in Large Language Models, the linguistic engines behind generative AI systems, which also inspired the name of the installation.
The masks, given voice through text-to-audio technology, respond to audience input. Visitors can interact with the work via their smartphones, introducing scenic elements that represent superstitions and conspiracy theories, prompting and shaping the improvisation on stage.
The Models Premiere (2025)
Technique: Audiovisual installation
On view at: DAMA Tecnopolo, Bologna
Dates: February 2025
Exhibit produced as part of the The Next Real program, within Art City Bologna 2025, in collaboration with CINECA and ART-ER, under the patronage of Regione Emilia-Romagna and Fondazione Bruno Kessler.
The Models at Regione Emilia-Romagna
Technique: Audiovisual installation
On view at: Regione Emilia-Romagna – Department of Cultural Heritage Headquarters, Bologna
Dates: March 2025
Exhibit produced as part of the The Next Real program, in collaboration with CINECA and ART-ER, under the patronage of Regione Emilia-Romagna.
dmstfctn
dmstfctn (formerly known as The Demystification Committee) is a London-based artist duo working with audiovisual performances, games, and video installations. Since 2018, their work has focused on complex systems, exploring communication networks, capital flows, information dynamics, and, more recently, artificial intelligence.
Their latest projects include Waluigi’s Purgatory and GOD MODE (ep.1)—interactive audiovisual performances that explore AI folklore and the use of simulation in AI training.
dmstfctn has performed and exhibited at Berghain, Serpentine, the Design Museum, Onassis, Corsica Studios, HKW, Fotomuseum Winterthur, LUMA Arles, ARTER Istanbul, and Aksioma, as well as at festivals such as Unsound, CTM, transmediale, Semibreve, Borderline, and Impakt.
In 2021, Krisis Publishing released ECHO FX, the artists’ performance on Brexit market manipulation, later also published in Ø: The Book by Flatlines/Hyperdub. In 2019, Mille Plateaux published Flash Demons, a collection of performances centered on financial market crashes.
dmstfctn was awarded the transmediale Vilém Flusser Residency for Artistic Research in 2017.
Press review
Credits
The Models (2025) is created by the London-based artist duo dmstfctn (Oliver Smith, Francesco Tacchini), curated and produced by Sineglossa, with game development support by Jenn Leung and music by Hero Image, in collaboration with CINECA and ART-ER, under the patronage of Regione Emilia-Romagna and Fondazione Bruno Kessler, as part of the European Digital Deal project, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.
