Soft Machines
Danielle Kaganov (IL)
29-31 jan 2026
Soft Machines
The U.S. military developed the Da Vinci surgical robot in the 1980s. Remotely controlled by doctors, it was designed to help wounded soldiers in dangerous battlefield conditions. Nowadays the device is used in many hospitals, including for heart surgeries and complex cancer procedures.
The contrast between the medical and military purpose, and the thin line between saving and taking a life, inspired Danielle Kaganov to make this philosophical science fiction film about a Da Vinci robot in a medical training institute that becomes self-aware. The device begins to wander through the halls and corridors, while images (or are they memories?) of real, high-precision surgeries and wartime situations resurface. The digital and real worlds progressively merge into a disorienting, bewildering, post-human state of being.
Danielle Kaganov is an artist and filmmaker based in France. Her work includes films, installations, and performances. She graduated from Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains (2025), and she was in HISK residency (2023). Her films have been presented at IDFA in Amsterdam, DocLisboa in Lisbon, and the Prussia Foundation in Vienna (2023). She is currently developing a solo exhibition at Atelier Rogiers in Brussels (2026). She has received several awards, including the Cooper Prize (2017), the first prize at the TISFF experimental competition (2020), and the Ilana Elovic Prize (2022). Her practice consists of long-term projects inspired by media, popular culture, and history, often taking a minor or critical position within established institutional systems.