QR CUBED: Immersive AR Sculptures by Julian Brown

QR codes are everywhere, connecting the physical world to an online one increasingly competing for our attention. In QR CUBED, Julian Brown transforms this familiar symbol into oversized physical and digital objects, exploring what happens when our relationship with technology becomes literally larger than life.

Using augmented reality (AR), Brown’s works “unbox” the QR code into three dimensions. When scanned, forms emerge from the code and extend into the surrounding space—pushed, pulled, morphed and manipulated into playful metaphors for our evolving relationship with technology.

Beneath that playfulness, QR CUBED considers the systems behind our everyday digital experiences. From sharing personal data and accepting cookies to concerns around surveillance, addiction and rapidly developing AI, the exhibition reflects on the increasingly outsized presence technology occupies in our lives.

There is also an intentional irony in experiencing these works through a screen. By scanning and interacting with the AR sculptures, audiences participate in the same digital networks the exhibition asks them to consider.