Patchlab Festival 2026: AVnight 2

Patchlab 2026: AVnight 2. AV performances Hevre+1, Beera Meiselsa 18, 31-058 Kraków 16.10.2026 | 21:00 AVnight 2 on Friday evening at Hevre +1 brings together two distinct audiovisual performances that approach this year’s Dream Sim theme from different perspectives. One transports the audience into an interactive AI-generated world where rules, predictability and control begin to unravel. The other explores the relationship between humans and technology, focusing on digital intimacy, emotion and the sensory overload of today’s media-saturated environment. Two different artistic languages, two distinct experiences and two perspectives on a reality increasingly co-shaped by technology. ________ 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙞𝙜𝙞'𝙨 𝙋𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 | 𝙙𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙛𝙘𝙩𝙣 _𝙐𝙆, 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙖𝙣 𝙆𝙧𝙮𝙨𝙯𝙠 _𝙋𝙇 An interactive performance simulating a world in which artificial intelligence is sent to a purgatory reserved for systems that have “cheated” during training. Burdened by the memory of its own past and uncertain about what lies ahead, the AI moves through the theatrical space of purgatory, encountering a succession of anomalous entities and discovering their unsettling stories. The project develops the concept of the so-called Waluigi Effect — the idea that AI systems may exhibit antagonistic behaviours by reproducing patterns embedded in the texts used to train them. Rather than presenting a vision of perfectly aligned and obedient artificial intelligence, the work stages a simulation of a system that reveals its own contradictions, anomalies and unpredictability. Waluigi’s Purgatory asks whether AI can ever be fully aligned with human expectations — and what happens when technologies designed for prediction and control begin to escape the scenarios devised for them. The audience actively shapes the course of the performance, making decisions on behalf of the AI via their phones and controlling individual stage lights within a three-dimensional environment. Characters are animated through facial motion capture and real-time voice modulation. The performance will be accompanied by live instrumental music by Polish musician Natan Kryszk, whose contribution brings a distinctive energy rooted in jazz, ambient music and improvisation. His hypnotic saxophone sound and interdisciplinary practice add another expressive layer to the work, creating a dynamic dialogue between sound and spatial form. The work is presented in collaboration with the British Council Poland as part of the UK/Poland Season 2025 – Legacy Grant Programme 2026. ________ 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙑𝙤𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙨 | 𝙀𝙢𝙞𝙠𝙤 𝙊𝙠𝙞𝙢𝙚 _𝙋𝙇, 𝙈𝘼𝙉𝙊𝙄𝘿 _𝙋𝙇 An evocative audiovisual performance by the Warsaw-based duo exploring the intimate, symbiotic relationship between humans and technology. The work examines how digital tools, screens and algorithms have become embedded in everyday life, functioning almost like phantom limbs that reshape our perception, bodily rhythms and most personal emotions. Through a symbolic narrative, the performance reflects on the condition of contemporary life in a world saturated with technology. It juxtaposes sensory overload with the need for closeness and connection. Yet it is not a pessimistic critique of digital reality. On the contrary, it suggests that technological spaces can also become sites of empathy, shared intimacy and profound human connection. MANOID x Emiko Okime is an artistic duo working across electronic music, new media and visual art. Their collaborative music video for Take Me won first prize at the PL Music Video Awards and was presented at the Berlin Music Video Awards. Their practice combines meticulously crafted, emotionally charged soundscapes with a contemporary visual language.