CAC x ON AIR Artist Talk | Posthuman Worlds
Artist: Lawrence Lek
Date: 18.11.2017
Time: 15:00-16:30
Language: English (with Chinese interpreting)
Venue: Chronus Art Center (No.18, No.50 Mo Gan Shan Rd, Shanghai)
Organised by Chronus Art Center (CAC)
Co-organised by <ON AIR>
Free admission. To reserve a seat, please click here.
Who will the artists of the future be? When AIs attain superhuman levels of creativity, will we embrace or exile these non-human creators? In Lek's science fiction film Geomancer, an international group of pro-human activists formulate the 'Anti-AI Art Law' because of their fears about the rise of creative AIs. While banning AIs from galleries, literary awards and art prizes might seem excessive, it might not be so far from reality. As automated digital technologies extend traditional notions of authorship, creativity in the new millennium will become an increasingly political frontier.
Using his most recent film Geomancer and other examples from his virtual worlds, Lawrence Lek will trace the development of his use of fictional artists to explore the politics of creativity. Drawing from his background in architecture, music and filmmaking, these works use video game engines to re-imagine real places within science fiction scenarios. These projects also include Sinofuturism (1839-2046 AD); and Play Station (Art Night, London, 2017). During the artist talk at Chronus Art Center, Lawrence Lek will also explore how digital artworks – themselves symptomatic of a neoliberal shift towards the experience economy - enable artists to construct new narrative forms that both celebrate and critique technology.
《风水师》(Geomancer), 2017, HD video, stereo sound, 48m15s
《中华未来主义》(Sinofuturism), 1839-2046 AD, 2016, HD video, stereo sound, 60m00s
About the Artist
Lawrence Lek is an artist based in London. He creates speculative worlds and site-specific simulations using gaming software, video, installation and performance. Often based on real places and fictional scenarios, his digital environments reflect the impact of the virtual on our perception of reality. Recent exhibitions include: Play Station, Art Night, London (2017); HyperPavilion, Venice Biennial 2017; Glasgow International, Tramway, Glasgow (2016); SeMA Biennale Mediacity Seoul 2016, Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul (2016); Missed Connections, Julia Stoschek Collection, Düsseldorf (2016); Secret Surface, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (2016); and The Uncanny Valley, Wysing Arts Centre, Cambridge (2015). Lek received the Jerwood / Film & Video Umbrella Award in 2017, Jerwood / Film & Video Umbrella Award in 2017.
About <ON AIR>
As a joint initiative between International Art & Science Research Institute (China) and videoclub (UK), <ON AIR> will launch a series of art projects and events from 2017 to 2019 in both China and the UK.
<ON AIR> has received funding support from Arts Council England and Creative Scotland. Focusing on creativity and exchange in the field of contemporary art, it aims to bring about refreshing and diverse activities in forms of discussion, exhibition, performance and screenings.
