Popularized as “ghoul,” the ghūl ( غول ) is a mischievous and malevolent creature of Arabian folklore. Spellcasters and shapeshifters, ghūl mimic human forms and behaviors in their efforts to entrap their prey. In Ghūl this folkloric archetype provides an expansive and playful framework for exploring how the systems we build—technological, cultural, economic, ecological—hunt, haunt, and hypnotize us. How do we see ourselves and our values reflected in these systems and the traps they set?
Framing systems not as neutral tools but as active agents of transformation, the exhibition moves through themes of algorithmic control, environmental degradation, mediated identity, and speculative interaction. The works include biodegradable materials crafted from food waste, a performative AI cult that critiques water extraction, immersive XR narratives drawn from immigrant memory, and interactive installations that turn users into data, summon digital apparitions, or manipulate illusion through motion.
Together, these projects reflect the urgency of rethinking the systems that condition everyday life. Through poetic, critical, and playful engagements, they invite viewers to navigate the visible and invisible forces shaping the present—and to imagine alternatives beyond them.
