Anatomy of non-fact | A workshop with Martyna Marciniak

7pm Thursday, May 7 2026 
Lecture by Martyna Marciniak 
Presentation of LAB 5: The Mechanics of Truth
(free event) 

4pm – 8pm Friday, May 8, 2026 
12pm – 8pm Saturday, May 9, 2026 
Workshop (registration required) 
 

The workshop is an introduction to the visual literacy methods necessary for tackling the topic of visual misinformation. Drawing on her experience as an artist, 3D designer, and forensic researcher, Martyna Marciniak will introduce the participants to a range of techniques for identifying synthetic images and their characteristics: from basic strategies of image verification to critical media theory and forensic visual analysis. 

These skills will then be applied to selected case studies, further informing the development of a vocabulary of visual tropes and aesthetic qualities that are associated with visual evidence, and which are simultaneously used to fabricate trust. 

In the final stage of the workshop the participants will apply their newly gained skills and observations to generate (using mostly analogue tools) the most aesthetically heightened misinformation image in response to an assigned written prompt.  

This is the first session of the Estudio de Sistemas (Study of Systems), a regular program of workshops, talks, and seminars aimed at fostering creative intuition and methodological experimentation around emerging and unstable technologies. 

About Martyna Marciniak  

Martyna Marciniak is a Polish, Berlin-based artist, researcher and 3D designer. Her work is an exploration of visual storytelling, and involves animation, film, writing and model-making. 

As a researcher, Martyna uses visual storytelling to draw attention to systemic violence and human-rights abuses. Her art practice relies on speculative fictions and allegory to expose technological and visual biases, while bridging the domains of aesthetics, law, politics and media theory. 

She has worked with Forensic Architecture, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, among other NGOs. Her co-established research group Border Emergency Collective investigated and documented stories of migrating people at the Polish-Belarusian border. She was an artist in residence at Bauhaus Dessau Foundation in 2018, at Akademie Schloss Solitude in 2024, and at transmediale in 2026. Her work has been shown at the Ars Electronica Festival, Warsaw Biennale, Kinema ICON in Bucharest, Haus Gropius in Dessau and deTour Festival in Hong Kong, among others. 

Practical Information 

Free workshop, registration is required 
Maximum of 16 participants plus auditors/observers 
Language: English 
All sessions take place in the Aulario room (Nave 17) at Matadero Madrid 
Attendance is required for the entire duration of the workshop on both days 
We recommend bringing a personal device (cell phone, tablet, or laptop). 

Sign up 

Registration form 

Registration is open until May 7. Participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. In the event that some registered participants do not show up, auditors/observers will be admitted as participants in the same order of registration.