*Below is an AI translated interview, read original text at [czechdesign.cz](https://www.czechdesign.cz/temata-a-rubriky/chci-aby-stroj-premyslel-po-svem-rika-vitez-otevrene-vyzvy-signal-festivalu-antonin-kindl-jeho-instalace-oko-analyzuje-divaky-v-realnem-case)* --- # “I want the machine to think in its own way,” says Signal Festival open-call winner Antonín Kindl. His installation **OKO** analyzes viewers in real time _Czechdesign Editorial Team — 25 August 2025 — 10 min read_ ![[cd1.jpg]] _This year’s open-call winner is Antonín Kindl, a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava. | Source: Author’s archive_ --- For the sixth year running, the Signal Calling open call has given space to a new generation of creators working at the intersection of art and technology. Organized by Signal Festival in collaboration with PrusaLab — Josef Průša’s prototyping workshop — the project supports young artists in developing innovative light installations and provides the backing needed to realize technically demanding visions. What will this year bring, and what (not only technological) challenges await the creator? This year’s winner is **Antonín Kindl**, a graduate of the **Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava**. In his work, he creates electronic organisms that question the boundaries between human and machine perception. His project **OKO** is taking shape at **PrusaLab**, where an experimental idea is becoming an interactive object that links projection, motion, and machine learning. Visitors to Signal Festival will be able to see it from **16 October** in one of Prague’s parks. The Signal Calling open call was created to connect artists and technical experts — to offer room for experimentation as well as professional production support. Signal Festival also runs a curatorial program in collaboration with the **PPF Foundation**, which helps raise the visibility of artists beyond the Czech art scene. Thanks to this, several works have already made it to international exhibitions and festival showcases. --- ### An installation that’s always on alert How does collaboration between an artist and a technical team work? How does an installation that “sees” and responds to its surroundings come into being? And which moments were the biggest challenges? We asked directly at the source — artist **Antonín Kindl**, project manager **Leoš Hort** from PrusaLab, and program manager **Alžběta Krajčíková** from Signal Festival. ![[cd2.jpg]] **You received a total of 22 applications for Signal Calling. What convinced you that OKO was the best installation?** **ALŽBĚTA:** This year’s edition was exceptionally strong in terms of the quality and variety of proposals. We newly included video presentations by the authors themselves, which helped us get to know not only the artist’s personality but also their project. In Antonín’s case, several things clicked into place. He had thought through the project very well, had already tried it in a certain format, and we could strongly feel his desire and enthusiasm to push the concept further. At the same time, the preparation materials — including the video presentation — were of high quality, and during the final in-person presentations his technological experience and professionalism were evident. **How does the OKO installation fit into this year’s curatorial concept for Signal Festival?** **ALŽBĚTA:** This year’s theme, **Solutions**, invites us to look for connections and answers to current crises in areas that seem unrelated. The festival’s focus and the wide range of artistic installations draw attention above all to the connection between art, technology, and nature. The principles behind the individual installations relate to the fundamental spatiotemporal forces of our world — **energy, attraction, and iteration**. All these motifs converge in OKO. **Energy** is manifested in the movement and almost sensory character the installation possesses. **Attraction** shows in its monumentality, its overall conception, and the way it works with its surroundings. **Iteration** then appears in the installation’s constant rhythmic vigilance, with which the machine examines and observes nearby visitors. Machines are attractive, but once they acquire human traits, society begins to regard them with greater caution. Fueled by stimuli, OKO continuously analyzes its environment and thus creates a sense of tension in the audience. ![[cd-3.jpg]] --- ### From utopian drafts back down to earth **Antonín, you often focus on the sensory perception of machines. What interests or fascinates you about this topic?** **ANTONÍN:** Above all, the fact that machines can perceive their surroundings in a completely different way than we do, and yet their perceptual processes reveal something about our own perception. A machine works with data that isn’t burdened by specific human experience and processes it according to precisely defined rules that we ourselves can design — program. In an artistic context, I find it interesting to create situations where these entirely different ways of perceiving collide — where the viewer not only observes the machine, but the machine simultaneously observes the viewer. This creates a peculiar moment that leads us to reflect on what it actually means to see and to understand. ![[cd4.jpg]] **Could you describe how OKO is being built physically?** **LEOŠ:** Antonín brought the concept of OKO and we followed up with planning, where we try to identify weak points as early as possible, test them, and prepare for the production of the final installation. We created a project plan, divided up roles, and set a timeline. It’s always a bit of a race against time and technology, but with each installation we get better at it. We’re currently in the phase of testing key parts that could fail. Only once we’re sure everything works will we move on to the actual build. In the end, we’ll assemble the entire installation in our workshop and run stress tests before it goes out to the festival. **ANTONÍN:** We started by exploring visualizations and tried to turn them into a feasible installation. Many designs are initially rather utopian, and you need to come back down to earth and look for workable solutions. In addition to the mechanics, we’re dealing with control electronics, the selection of sensors for capturing the environment, and the final algorithm that processes data in real time and transforms it into image, movement, and sound. ![[cd6.jpg]] **You typically focus on product prototyping at PrusaLab — how is working on an art project different?** **LEOŠ:** Unlike with products, where we focus on function and the user, in an art project like OKO we have to tune in more to the viewer, imagine their experience, and accept that some decisions stem more from an aesthetic or artistic intention than from pure logic. --- ### Once we understand the machine, we can experiment **Which moments in developing the installation were the biggest challenges — technically or humanly?** **LEOŠ:** The biggest challenge is working with uncertainty. For untested things — like handling the projector or cooling enclosed parts — we have to be sure everything will work the first time, because there’s simply no room for error. **ANTONÍN:** Uncertainty, but also the occasional need to make quick decisions. For me, the teamwork itself is both a challenge and a valuable experience. When I realize projects on my own, I often make lots of decisions on the fly or change them at the last minute, because it can benefit the outcome. Here, there often isn’t space for that, and some decisions need to be made quickly and well in advance so a solution can be designed and implemented. That brings certain constraints, but it also allows the project to be conceptually firm from the outset and technically buttoned up. We also encountered various regulations related to installing a large object in a public space, which in themselves influenced its creation. ![[cd-4.jpg]] **How do you see the development of the Czech new-media scene—and what role does the festival play in it?** **ALŽBĚTA:** We do have a certain tradition and history of new-media art in the Czech Republic. With the arrival of the festival, however, the portfolio and typology of light, new-media, and digital art has certainly expanded — in terms of formats, approaches, and new technologies. The festival has also created a platform that connects artists, presents them, and produces their works and exports them abroad. It’s unique in linking new-media art with public space and thus making it accessible to a wide audience. Collaboration with culturally and commercially diverse partners also plays a major role, enabling projects that showcase the quality of Czech new-media art both at home and abroad. **And finally, a slightly philosophical question—how is the relationship between people and technology changing, and how can art respond?** **ANTONÍN:** The relationship between humans and machines is becoming increasingly symbiotic and at the same time more ambiguous. Contemporary technologies already influence our decision-making and behavior to a certain extent, which raises many questions about trust, autonomy, and ethics. In our field, we encounter the easy synthesis of content more and more often — we are literally flooded with generated material. For me, it’s therefore essential to understand technology as a creative medium, not just a tool. Only when we understand a given tool and master the craft can we experiment with it consciously and use it to realize our vision. Art not only naturally opens up and highlights these topics; it can also function as a space where we safely test possible scenarios or find out what it means to share space with such technological “beings.” ![[cd7.jpg]] **ALŽBĚTA:** Art exists to reflect what’s happening in society through visual or other sensory means. It’s understandable, then, that the relationship between technologies and humans appears in visual art — and that’s a good thing. It’s great that thanks to technology, art evolves and brings new possibilities and themes. It’s also good that art both celebrates and objectively critiques technology. Still, as in any other area, we must beware of the line between authenticity and a merely generic output that lacks depth, logic, and the human touch. The festival is here precisely to curate and enable domestic audiences to discover the newest trends and curiosities in new media, art, and technology. **LEOŠ:** The relationship between people and technology is changing faster and faster, and it’s incredibly interesting for us to be involved in projects where these boundaries are explored or pushed. We contribute technological know-how to the projects, but at the same time we take away experiences from working with artists that have overlap into other areas of our work.