Neïl Beloufa's 'Humanities' at Kunsthalle Basel Blends Digital Avatars and Institutional Critique

Neïl Beloufa's first institutional solo exhibition in Switzerland, 'Humanities', opened at Kunsthalle Basel. The exhibition features three major installations—'Growth' (2024), 'Tombstone' (2024), and 'Global Agreement' (2018)—alongside works from series such as 'Applique (sconce)' (2019), 'Double Standard', and 'ATM' (2024). Visitors build digital avatars by answering questions about their name, occupation, and motivation, which guide them through a gamified environment. 'Growth' includes over forty carved PU foam objects, including Swiss cultural icons like Toblerone chocolate and the Swiss Army knife. 'Tombstone' is a kinetic sculpture that destroys financial tombstones on a conveyor belt. 'Global Agreement' displays phone and webcam recordings of soldiers on monitors mounted on gym-like seating. At the end, visitors scan codes to trigger a personalized AI-generated short film featuring a digital avatar delivering a surreal monologue. The press release is from Kunsthalle Basel. Photography by Philipp Hänger.