NAKED SPACE

Through immersive and interactive elements, this exhibition offers a sensory exploration of vision and visual impairment. By establishing emotional and intellectual connections, it delves into the concept and impact of ECaBox, a biomedical research project with an ambitious goal: to restore sight.

The ECaBox project team, coordinated by the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, has developed a revolutionary device to revive donor eyes. This device is a box equipped with the necessary functions to sustain close-to physiological life of eyes that would otherwise lose all function just minutes after being removed from the body. The box enables the study of the retina and the development of drugs to treat vision problems.

The exhibition space is reconceptualized as a ‘box’—a living eye in which artwork and visitors engage in a mutual act of observation. Structured around the interplay of light and shadow, the environment becomes both immersive and instructive, designed to provoke sensory and intellectual curiosity. At the heart of the exhibition stands a kinetic inflatable structure—an ephemeral, living entity created by NAKED SPACE to embody the raw essence of ECaBox. Drawing on references from early bio-responsive wearables and pneumatic environments, the piece holds both fragility and vitality.

To enrich this framework, NAKED SPACE has invited creatives whose practices delve into sensory and perceptual experimentation, expanding the scientific narrative into a broader cultural and artistic discourse. Their contributions foster a multidimensional encounter—where research becomes felt experience. By merging CRG’s biomedical innovation with a curatorial approach rooted in spatial and conceptual inquiry, the exhibition invites collective reflection on the meaning of sight, perception, and scientific progress. It frames science not as isolated knowledge, but as a cultural act: participatory, emotional, and continuously unfolding.

What is the significance of vision, light, and darkness in human perception? Are there ways of ‘seeing’ beyond sight? What are the limits of vision? Do we observe consciously? What role does basic research play in addressing visual impairment? Can we feel research?

Welcome to the forefront of science, where human vision is reborn.

(Installations and materials in this exhibition are designed for future reuse and repurpose. After the tour, exhibited elements will find new life—adapted into educational contexts, community workshops, or future artistic collaborations facilitated by NAKED SPACE and their network—reinforcing a commitment to sustainability and circular design)