By Aylin Krieger
07 Sep 2026
Sync Ratio – A New Mural Inspired by the U Bremen Research Alliance
One of these works is “Sync Ratio” at Fehrfeld 39. In the mural, Chilean artist Nense Tango explores artificial intelligence, robotics, and the relationship between humans and machines. The inspiration for the artwork came from the U Bremen Research Alliance as a science partner.
At its center is a question that also shapes research in Bremen: How do you teach a machine things that humans take for granted: seeing, grasping, understanding?
Humans and Machines as Mirrors
How close can humans and machines become? “Sync Ratio” makes this question visible.
The mural shows a figure with closed eyes, holding a gleaming chrome heart. Pink scanning fields overlay the face, as if a machine vision system were capturing it.
The heart connects humans and technology: its shape evokes something organic, while its material gives it a technical quality. The title also points to this convergence. “Sync Ratio” describes the degree to which the two sides synchronize.
It remains unclear who is perceiving and who is being read. Is the figure thinking, or being analyzed? Is the figure the subject or the object?
This very ambiguity is what gives the work its strength. Nense Tango does not present a simple opposition between humans and machines. Instead, he shows a moment in which the two interlock: body, perception, and technology.
An Impulse from AI Research in Bremen
The scientific reference in “Sync Ratio” leads directly to a question that also drives research in Bremen: How do you teach a machine things that humans take for granted—seeing, grasping, understanding?
Research in Bremen is being conducted precisely at this interface between humans and machines. The state of Bremen is one of Germany’s leading AI hubs and hosted IJCAI-ECAI in 2026, one of the world’s most important conferences on artificial intelligence.
The U Bremen Research Alliance is a network in which institutions work on artificial intelligence across disciplinary boundaries. Through the High Profile Area Minds, Media, Machines and the DFKI, research in Bremen connects robotics, perception, and machine learning - from robots that learn everyday manual actions by observing humans to systems that analyze biosignals and sensory input.
The goal behind this work is to develop artificial intelligence in a way that is open, explainable, and human-centered.
Science Talk in Front of the Mural
As “Sync Ratio” was taking shape, the connection between art and research became tangible on site. On August 20, 2026, Matthew White from the Cognitive Systems Lab at the University of Bremen gave the science talk “From the Lab to Everyday Life: Wearable Neuroscience for Human-Centric AI” in front of the wall while Nense Tango worked on the mural.
The talk focused on wearable biosignal sensors, including EEG and fNIRS, as well as survey methods designed for everyday settings. These tools can help researchers study cognitive processes, stress, and decision-making behavior outside traditional laboratory environments. In this way, the talk drew a direct connection between the mural’s imagery and current research on human-centric AI.
MURAL CITY Creates a Lasting Reminder of Bremen’s Summer of AI
“Sync Ratio” was created during a summer in which artificial intelligence was especially visible in Bremen: through IJCAI-ECAI 2026, the AI x Open Lab, the AI Lounges, and public lectures. At Fehrfeld 39, a lasting and visible reminder remains.
The eleven murals of MURAL CITY – Beauty of Science are not temporary traces of a festival. They remain part of Bremen’s cityscape and make scientific topics accessible in the places where people encounter them in everyday life. Accompanying information panels explain the scientific background on site and invite passersby to pause, take a closer look, and ask further questions.
In this way, Bremen’s Summer of AI remains visible beyond the event weeks: as art in public space, as a prompt for reflection, and as an invitation to discover research from Bremen.
About Mural City
MURAL CITY is a project by the nonprofit organization URVANGARDE e. V.; Lucky Walls is responsible for the concept, organization, and implementation on behalf of the association. The next chapter, “Beauty of Culture,” is already planned for 2027.
