Mind Reading Machines | Open studio with Gala Hernández López

Gala Hernández López combines filmmaking and research to produce poetic and oneiric works in which documentary elements intertwine with subtle layers of speculative fiction and an observation of the material reality of computational capitalism.

In her work, Gala examines the imaginaries and narratives circulating within the discourse of technological innovation, as well as the possible futures —the “futurabilities”— suggested by technologies presented as revolutionary. She approaches them not only in their technical nature, but also as stories infused with fiction that eventually permeate the collective unconscious, becoming subjective conditions that guide the design of the world and the conditions of existence within it.

In MIND READING MACHINES. From Animal Magnetism to Brain Engineering, Gala opens the doors to her virtual workspace to show how visual, sociotechnical, and anthropological research becomes audiovisual narrative.

It’s a rare opportunity to explore the references that inform her research into the history of methods and inventions aimed at deciphering the “black box” of the mind: from the pseudoscientific fantasies of animal magnetism, to the cybernetic vision of the brain as a machine to be decoded, and finally to the promises of neurocapitalism—commercial and ideological in equal measure—and its utopias of optimization and control over our cognitive systems.

About Gala Hernández López
 

Gala Hernández López is an artist, filmmaker, producer and researcher, founder of the Spanish production company 6980 Films. Her work delves into techno-social entanglements and new forms of subjectivity shaped by computational capitalism. Examining the imaginaries and narratives circulating within virtual communities as well as the ‘futurabilities’ inspired by disruptive technologies, she treats them as shared fictions that permeate our intimacy as well as our collective unconscious. At the heart of her practice lies an ecofeminist sensibility that produces poetic, oneiric, research-driven artworks blending materialist critique, speculative fiction, and documentary elements.

Her work has been screened and exhibited internationally, including Cannes, Berlinale, Rotterdam, DOK Leipzig, IDFA, Cinéma du Réel, Palais de Tokyo, IndieLisboa, Courtisane, Curtas Vila do Conde, Berlinische Galerie, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, BIEFF, Punto de Vista, transmediale, Open City Doc, iMAL, FRAC Ile de France, FRAC Corsica, Centre Wallonie Bruxelles, Tabakalera, Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival, Le Nouveau Printemps, Clermont-Ferrand and the Salon de Montrouge, among others.

In collaboration with Documenta Madrid
 

This session is presented in collaboration with Documenta Madrid as part of Estudio de Sistemas (Study of Systems), Medialab Matadero’s new series of extradisciplinary studies. Organized as a regular series of workshops, talks, and seminars, Estudio de Sistemas aims to foster creative intuition and methodological experimentation around emerging and unstable technologies. In 2026, it accompanies the annual thematic program LAB 5 The Mechanics of Truth.

This is a free event with ticket download at https://www.cinetecamadrid.com/