Excalibur 2026

Elena Zaghis received a grant for the development of new work. Her research traces how myths, stories that explain and shape reality, are materialized, then reinvented through whatever ideology comes next, a process digital culture has sped up. Her case study is Excalibur. In one version, the Lady of the Lake produces the sword by magic, an echo of wonder at metallurgy, ore turned into something that could grant a nation power. She hears that same wonder in how we talk about AI. With an archaeologist, she is tracing how the myth has shapeshifted; with a creative technologist, she is testing how it could become an installation: a sword lodged in a computer monitor or its CPU.

Elena is a millennial, proselyte of the gaming age devoted to the exploration of alternative timelines in this era of technological acceleration. through her practice, she researches the words fabricated with automated/automatic technologies, as well as the vibes they may generate.