SPECTACULAR: THE ART OF JONATHAN YEO IN AUGMENTED REALITY
JONATHAN’S LATEST COLLABORATION WITH SNAPCHAT showcased at cannes lions festival 2026 at La Malmaison
Following its world premiere at Centre Pompidou, Paris in October 2025, it’s US debut at SXSW Austin as part of the Official Selection in March 2026, Spectacular: The Art of Jonathan Yeo in Augmented Reality arrived at Cannes Lions festival for its third and most developed outing yet.
Having previously work with Snap on an AI project which created 3 Snap ‘filters’ in Jonathan’s different painting styles, this new project showcasing the possibilities of their new AR smart glasses, ‘Spectacles’, was the perfect opportunity for Jonathan to develop some more in-depth ideas around the future of museums and how we may view art in the coming years.
By blending Yeo’s distinctive portraiture style with Snap’s cutting-edge technology, the exhibit transforms a selection of his royal, celebrity, and self-portraits into living, responsive installations that invite guests to see beyond the frame.
Guests were invited to experience this groundbreaking exhibit through Spectacles which enhance how people naturally interact with the world. The artworks evolve in real time and respond to each visitor, shifting the act of passive contemplation into active participation. The journey culminates in a personal surprise: before leaving, each guest departs with a unique creation, a signed portrait of themselves in Jonathan’s unique style.
The Spectacles recognise the viewer as they approach and react visually to certain physical actions. Each artwork has an audio track, and an increasingly multi-layered and playful immersive element to interact with and explore. The show examines, in a fun and accessible way, how we might experience the environment of a museum or art gallery in the future, and how technology could accentuate the individual’s (and potentially, collective) journey.
“The twist is that at some point you become the picture, and that’s the point where people really get involved,” Yeo said. Alongside the more obviously enjoyable interactions, the aim of the project is also to highlight the seductive, unsettling ways that technology serves and manipulates society, from social media to deep fakes.
