Auntiescapes: the body as territory in the digital age
Load Gallery presents the expanded universe of niceaunties in Barcelona
In an increasingly complex digital art ecosystem, few practices are as lucid, critical and emotionally resonant as that of niceaunties.
Her latest exhibition project, Auntiescapes, presented at Load Gallery, consolidates one of the most compelling ongoing explorations of identity, the body and contemporary culture mediated by artificial intelligence.
Located in the creative district of Poblenou, Load is far from a conventional gallery. Founded by Alex Simorrè, this hybrid space has been conceived as a cultural infrastructure where technology, architecture and curatorial vision converge.
Its aim is clear: to provide digital art with physical presence, permanence and institutional legitimacy within a context traditionally dominated by the material.
From the Auntieverse to the body as landscape
To fully understand Auntiescapes, it must be situated within the artist’s broader universe: the Auntieverse.
As we explored in our interview following her appearance at OFFF Barcelona 2025, niceaunties reinterprets the figure of the “auntie” — a deeply rooted archetype across many Asian cultures — transforming it into the protagonist of speculative narratives infused with humour, social critique and an unexpected tenderness, while also reclaiming its cultural significance and projecting it into imagined futures shaped by technology and shifting social norms.
In this new exhibition, that universe evolves towards a more intimate and complex dimension. Auntiescapes shifts the focus from the social to the corporeal, proposing a concept as evocative as it is powerful: the body as a living landscape.
“Auntiescapes shifts the focus from the social to the corporeal, proposing a concept as evocative as it is powerful: the body as a living landscape.”
As articulated throughout the exhibition, skin ceases to function as a mere surface and becomes territory; flesh takes on a geological dimension; and emotions act as forces shaping perception. This perspective aligns with contemporary thought that understands the body not as an isolated entity, but as a system in constant dialogue with its environment.
Artificial intelligence, memory and transformation
One of the most significant aspects of niceaunties’ practice is her use of artificial intelligence not as a purely aesthetic tool, but as a conceptual language.
Over more than three years, the artist has developed imagery using text-to-image and image-to-video systems, constructing a visual archive that operates both as cultural memory and speculative futurism.
Auntiescapes brings together recent works (2025–2026) that expand on earlier explorations of beauty, ageing and the social pressures imposed on the female body. Here, however, the enquiry moves further, delving into less visible dimensions such as energy, emotion and the internal states that inhabit the body.
Works such as Hot Bod address the transformation of the menopausal body; Cycles traces rhythms of renewal; Body Bag reflects on surgery as a space of tension between control and vulnerability. Beneath them all lies a shared question: how is the body constructed — and perceived — within a culture shaped by technology?
Between the intimate and the collective
One of the exhibition’s greatest strengths is its ability to move fluidly between the personal and the universal.
Works such as Homebody or Falls initially appear as surreal landscapes — a smoking volcano, a cascading waterfall — yet upon closer inspection reveal compositions made of skin, flesh and human figures. The body dissolves into its surroundings, blurring the boundaries between individual and world.
This idea reaches its peak in the central installation, Mirror into the Auntieverse, where the viewer no longer sees themselves, but instead encounters an “auntie” who addresses them directly. Reflection becomes dialogue, and identity unfolds as a continuous negotiation between the cultural and the intimate.
Here, one of the artist’s key themes emerges: the inner voice as a social construct. That blend of judgement, care and humour that so often defines family dynamics is transformed into a deeply contemporary interactive experience.
“In Mirror into the Auntieverse, the viewer ceases to see themselves and instead encounters an ‘auntie’ who speaks directly to them.”
An exhibition that redefines the contemporary body
Auntiescapes is not an exhibition about technology. It is an exhibition about the human condition within a technological context. About how the body, identity and memory are reshaped in an era where the digital is no longer an extension, but a condition.
As became clear in our conversation with the artist, niceaunties is not interested in offering definitive answers, but in opening spaces for reflection. Her work is political without being overt, critical without losing sensitivity, and deeply contemporary without relinquishing emotion.
At a time when digital art continues to seek its place within institutional frameworks, exhibitions such as this demonstrate not only its relevance, but its necessity in understanding the present.
Auntiescapes can be visited from 7 May to 15 August 2026 at Load Gallery (Carrer de Llull 134, Barcelona). An essential exhibition for those interested in exploring the boundaries between art, technology and human experience.
