The new installation by Mónica Rikić, Mayte Gómez Molina and Myriam Bleau, curated by Xavier Hernández, opens on Saturday 12 September at 7 pm in Sala Zero at Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts.

How would we experience the loss of an intelligent technological device that had “consciously” decided to abandon us? What part of our identity would disappear with it? This is the starting point for meltdown, a new immersive experience created by artists Mónica Rikić, Mayte Gómez Molina and Myriam Bleau, curated by Xavier Hernández and initiated by The Generative Art Museum (TGAM).

The installation opens on Saturday 12 September at 7 pm in Sala Zero at Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts in Granollers, and will be open to visitors on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until 27 September.

meltdown offers an immersive, playful space to explore, in which a person discovers that they have not only lost technology but, through their questionable use of it, have also gradually lost themselves.

Conceived as a video game brought into the physical world, the experience places visitors within a narrative centred on a character left confused after being abandoned by an artificial entity. As visitors move through the space, they can decide how deeply they wish to engage in order to regain technology’s trust. Each choice activates different forms of interaction with surfaces, projections, sounds, screens, sensors and handcrafted robots.

The experience unfolds in a nonlinear way, blurring the boundaries between the individual and the collective, the public and the intimate, and physical and digital spaces. Visitors are invited to discover, touch, listen, play and become part of the world created by the installation.

Reclaiming technology as a space for art

At a time when the word “immersive” has become an increasingly ambiguous label, meltdown seeks to reclaim spatial computing through art, allowing technology to draw on artistic imagination rather than the other way around.

The installation combines robotics, handcrafted electronics, moving images, text and generative sound, alongside interactive systems developed specifically for the project. Together, these elements form a constantly evolving perceptual ecosystem that responds poetically to visitors’ presence and choices.

The work addresses a central issue in our hyperdigital society: the intrusive presence of devices and algorithms in everyday life, and their ability to influence our decisions and shape our identities. In response, meltdown imagines alternative ways of relating to technology, grounded in dialogue, personal agency and the possibility of building more conscious connections.

A multidisciplinary artistic collaboration

The project brings together three artists with complementary backgrounds and artistic approaches.

Mónica Rikić is an artist and researcher who makes unusual robots and handcrafted electronic devices. Her work develops narratives that connect technology and philosophy through art, creating artefacts that move beyond functionality to act as critical theatrical devices, stimulating reflection and collective debate. Awarded Catalonia’s National Culture Prize in 2021, her works are held in prominent art collections and have been presented internationally at institutions and events including Ars Electronica, Manifesta and CCCB.

Mayte Gómez Molina is a writer, researcher and new media artist. She works with 3D animation, virtual reality, digital film and writing to explore the body as a political subject, the construction of identity, and visibility and invisibility as survival strategies. In 2023, she received the Miguel Hernández National Young Poetry Prize.

Myriam Bleau is a composer, digital artist and performer based in Montreal. Her work connects electronic sound, light, movement, audiovisual interfaces and interactive systems. Her projects have been presented internationally at festivals including Ars Electronica, Sónar and MUTEK. For meltdown, she has created an immersive soundtrack that transforms and unfolds throughout the space, adding another narrative layer to the experience.

Practical information

Exhibition: meltdown
Artists: Mónica Rikić, Mayte Gómez Molina and Myriam Bleau
Curator: Xavier Hernández
Opening: Saturday 12 September 2026 at 7 pm
Exhibition dates: 12–27 September 2026
Venue: Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts, Granollers
Opening hours:

• Fridays: 5–8 pm

• Saturdays: 11 am–2 pm and 5–8 pm

• Sundays: 11 am–2 pm

Open on: 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 September.

About The Generative Art Museum

The Generative Art Museum is a nonprofit cultural association based in Granollers, dedicated to promoting generative art and creative coding as forms of artistic expression. TGAM organises the Responsive Dreams digital arts festival and runs Creative Coding Barcelona, a community that hosts regular gatherings with artists, collectives, researchers, curators and other cultural practitioners exploring creative uses of technology.

meltdown is commissioned and produced by The Generative Art Museum, with the support of the Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia, streamflow and Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts.