ARKANIAN SHENRON

From May 4 to 17, the Capitular Library of Verona hosts Luca Pozzi’s work Arkanian Shenron (2020) in its Monumental Hall, a multi-platform installation integrated into an exhibition itinerary dedicated to the intersection of contemporary artistic languages and scientific reflection. The sculpture, inspired by the dragon character from the manga Dragon Ball, is presented as a device that connects different levels of reality, linking the material dimension, informational processes, and digital infrastructures.

The intervention is configured as a tribute to theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, a central figure in quantum gravity studies, on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. The project is situated within a reflection on the role of information as a structural element of physical phenomena, particularly in the relationship between quantum mechanics and general relativity—a theoretical framework central to Loop Quantum Gravity. The installation is included in the Capitular Library’s program, which features initiatives aimed at promoting knowledge across different eras through the adoption of heterogeneous expressive languages rooted in art and visual culture.

Arkanian Shenron is presented as a system that simultaneously traverses multiple ontological levels. The bronze sculptural structure represents the macroscopic dimension of the work, while the technological and digital components refer respectively to the subatomic level of quantum interactions and the immaterial level of the network. The artwork is described as a form of technological animism, in which physical objects and informational processes are interconnected through data detection and translation systems.

Integrated within the sculpture is a particle detector developed in collaboration with the INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics). The device intercepts the passage of muons—charged particles originating from high-energy cosmic events in the stratosphere and linked to explosion phenomena in deep space. Each interaction between a particle and the sensor is recorded as a specific physical event.

The interaction between the artwork and the environment manifests through a light signaling system: every time a particle passes through the structure, a pair of blue LEDs positioned on the front—corresponding to the sculpture’s eyes—emits a light signal. This visual response makes an otherwise invisible phenomenon perceptible, translating a physical event into an observable signal. The work’s internal information system also integrates an algorithmic component that processes the recorded events. A rudimentary artificial intelligence associates each detection with a word extracted from the philosophical texts of Bertrand Russell, setting up a translation process between physical data and language. Upon reaching the sixteenth detection, the system generates a poetic composition in the form of a contemporary haiku. The text is automatically published on the artwork’s Telegram profile and broadcast via a three-dimensional avatar that performs its declamation in a web environment.

From an iconographic perspective, the figure of Shenron is constructed as an assemblage of heterogeneous references. The wings recall the Madonna del Parto by Piero della Francesca, while the upper crown is associated with the concept of Spin Foam, a theoretical element of Loop Quantum Gravity. The bodily structure references non-commutative geometry, while the tail is interpreted as a symbolic representation of an IBM quantum computer’s architecture. The artwork is read as a reflection on remote correlations and the possibility of an information network capable of connecting separate events in space and time. From this perspective, the distinction between analog and digital is progressively relativized in favor of a model where information constitutes the primary level of observed reality.