The Mobile World Centre virtual human tower climbs to over 500 meters

• The Highest Human Tower places a technological twist on the castells tradition
• The work of Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet forms part of Music+Arts, an Art, Music, and Digital Culture series open until 13 December

November 7, 2014

The Highest Human Tower interactive work, installed at the Mobile World Centre now stands 580 meters high. In its two weeks of operation more than 300 people have participated in Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet’s artistic project to create, through the aid of technology, the highest human tower ever constructed.

The Highest Human Tower is a technological installation that records a brief video of the participants and, via software, incorporates the images into a virtual human tower built on a reproduction of the Plaza Sant Jaume in Barcelona, in such a way that the participant has the same views he would have if he were actually at the height corresponding to his position in the tower.

With this reinterpretation of the castellers tradition, the artistic duo of Varvara Guljajeva (Tallinn) and Mar Canet (Barcelona) seek to demonstrate that technology is able to ascend to heights that man cannot. Visitors can appreciate the potential of technology and form part of a collective construction project allowing them to be a casteller for a day.

The tandem of creators, Varvara and Mar, are specialists in combining latest-gen technology and craftsmanship. Their creations have caught the interest of companies like Google, and have been exhibited all around the world, including Google DevArt Barbican (London), Fact Liverpool (UK), Brazil, Australia, and at Sónar Music Festival.

The Highest Human Tower is one of the 12 interactive spaces making up “New Realities,” Music+Arts’ central exhibition. This series presents the latest international trends in Art, Music, and Digital Culture, and may be visited at the Mobile World Centre until 13 December.

Mobile World Centre is a public/private initiative created by Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCB) and Telefónica to educate citizens about the world of mobile telephone technologies and the Internet. The Centre is a facility open to citizens, with a permanent exhibition and offering a lineup of activities related to current events and projects focused on the social, cultural, technological and economic transformations driven by mobile technology.

Mobile World Capital presents a global vision that effectively integrates mobile technologies into the fabric of the industries transforming our lives. Committed to expanding the mobile experience throughout Barcelona, Catalonia and Spain with strong support of the public and private sector.

Mobile World Capital is leading mobile transformation through commitments in Competence Centres, local Industry Development, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation programmes.

MWCapital offers an open platform and exhibition showroom where citizens can understand and experience how mobile is enhancing our lives: The Mobile World Centre, located in the heart of Barcelona on Plaza Catalunya.