Studio Nucleo's Boolean Project Turns Selfies into Minimalist Sculptures via Instagram Filters

Turin-based design duo Studio Nucleo, composed of Marzia Ricci and Piergiorgio Robino, has launched The Boolean Project, a participatory art initiative that transforms users' selfies into minimalist sculptures through nine black-and-white Instagram filters. The filters are based on Boolean logic, an algebra where variables are either true or false, and draw proportions from classical Greek and Roman busts. The project extends Studio Nucleo's research into Boolean logic, ongoing since 2017. It first took shape in May 2020 at the Castello di Rivoli as part of the Glass-Nost project curated by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev and Gianluigi Ricuperati, and was also included in the Borderline Arte Festival at the Pinacoteca di Varallo from September 25 to 27, 2020. Robino stated that augmented reality facilitates cultural storytelling and provides a personal art experience, twisting the traditional visitor-object relationship. The filters allow users to overlay virtual sculptural components onto their faces or onto actual sculptures, enabling interaction with art akin to taking a selfie. Other artists like David O'Reilly, Ines Alpha, Kamilia Kard, and Martina Menegon have also created Instagram filters, while institutions like Centro Pecci in Prato and Tate London have released AR filters for exhibitions.