profile

Dora Siafla is an interdisciplinary artist working across visual and digital media, focusing on data-driven forms, AI systems, video, and user interaction. Her work connects physical materials and computational approaches, investigating how their interplay forms hybrid spaces as platforms for experimental creation.She holds an MA in Audiovisual Arts from the Ionian University, following studies in Visual and Applied Arts at the University of Western Macedonia, where she received two excellence scholarships. Her background is complemented by coursework in computer science and digital methodologies through Harvard’s CS50, MITx, and the University of British Columbia.Her practice has been presented across international venues, including Ars Electronica, Onassis Stegi x British Council, Boston Cyberarts, NYC Resistor, Winona State University, Baruch College’s New Media Artspace, Athens Digital Arts Festival (ADAF), and the FluxusMuseum Prize, marking a commission. Her research has been presented at international conferences, covering experimental media, algorithmic sound, and AI storytelling.

Contact

e-mail: dorasiafla(at)gmail.com

Hidden in the Bloom

Hidden in The Bloom, 2025
Video Art, 4:14

This video work adopts the aesthetic and logic of a first-person video game to revive a lost queer code. In the early 20th century, particularly in cities like New York and Paris, violets were used discreetly among women as a gesture of romantic interest and shared identity. Within a climate of social repression, these flowers became a quiet language of recognition.The viewer experiences the piece as if inside a game. Moving through digital servers, they encounter figures that can be approached. To flirt, one must offer a violet. If the gesture is accepted, a screenshot stays on the screen. What’s left is that awkward mix of wanting something and not being sure if it’s mutual. As more connections appear, the screen becomes crowded with stills. Over time, the narration starts to break down. It becomes clear that the system is trying to shut the voice down. This moment touches on the real-world censorship of queer expression and the way violet symbolism was actively suppressed in 1927 through scandal, pressure, and police action.

Last Seen in the Lobby

Last Seen in The Lobby, 2025
Virtual Environment

Many people turn to video game communities to connect, express themselves, and find a sense of belonging. These spaces are supposed to be free environments where different voices and experiences can exist. But censorship and moderation often work against this idea. ''Last Seen in the Lobby'' is a virtual space filled with ghost-like avatars. Each avatar represents a real person who was silenced or pushed out of gaming spaces. When you move closer, text bubbles appear, showing real statements from online platforms where users explained why they were removed or muted. Some people spoke about mental health, identity, or political views. Others defended someone else or simply shared personal feelings. Even simple words became reasons for bans. This work wants to show how moderation systems and social dynamics decide who gets to speak and who disappears. It keeps visible the words of people who were erased from places meant to be open and shared.

Transforming Medicine Through AI and Art

Ars Electronica, LBG OIS Center, JKU LIFT_C

Planetary-Personal-Pain (PPP), 2025
Interactive App/Website

‘’Planetary-Personal-Pain’’ (PPP) takes the form of an interactive pain map, visualizing the entanglement of ecological destruction, socio-economic fragility, and human suffering. Drawing on data from social media expressions of pain, medical health datasets, GDP statistics, and environmental records, phantom scars emerge as craters on the Earth’s surface, each sonified through the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine - Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Participants’ narratives of pain are integrated into this planetary cartography, encouraging reflection on the ongoing impact of ecological and health crises. Users share their personal narratives of pain, adding depth to the collective and lingering pain corresponding to environmental distress in different countries.

PPP was developed during the Hackathon 2025, a three-day program organized by @jkulinz’s LIFT_C, @arselectronica, and @ludwigboltzmanngesellschaft's OIS Center. The work was presented at the Ars Electronica Festival 2025 in Linz, as part of the showcase "Transforming Medicine through AI and Art."Team: Dora Siafla, Hollis Hui, Julia Guthrie, Jack Heseltine, Ines Gerard-Ursin, Lukas Troyer, Mary Maggic, Mathieu Mahve-Beydokhti, Michael Artner, Péter Velősy.

The Living Code of Biosemiosis

Diploma thesis, Ionian University (MA in Audiovisual Arts)

The Living Code of Biosemiosis, 2024-25
Interactive installation

The work draws from the principles of biosemiotics, specifically the idea that life is based on codes and signs.At its core is the cell, around which the installation is developed. This research suggests an understanding of ''semiosis'' as an intrinsic process of the body, arising through its continuous relation to the surrounding environment. The world is shaped by continuous exchanges of signals, many of which remain unseen to human perception. Cells respond to chemical signals, plants transmit information through their roots, and animals communicate through movements, sounds, and colors. If every structural element carries an imprint of meaning within it, then the body, the environment, and information form an inseparable field.The interactive structure is activated by touching a biometric sensor for an extended period. Within a small square frame, a black droplet of magnetic fluid transforms, forming shapes reminiscent of cells. As the form settles, it leaves behind a trace of a residual mark, akin to blood. Above the droplet, a small camera captures these transformations. The images are projected on a large scale onto the wall. Simultaneously, the changes in the form of the droplet cell are translated into sound, creating an acoustic environment that evolves in real-time.

Installed View

Process Notes