I wonder: how might an AI feel? In my recent series of work, Guanyin is a ‘carebot’, an AI in charge of repairing the psychological damage done to other AIs. Essentially, they are cyborg therapists. I often think about how technological development operates like speculative fiction; future scenarios are often explored in advance through simulation exercises.
– Lawrence Lek
London-based artist, filmmaker and musician Lawrence Lek has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Artist Award at Frieze London. The award – in partnership with Forma – gives an early- or mid-career artist the opportunity to realise an ambitious new commission at Frieze London.
Lek’s work unifies diverse practices – architecture, gaming, video, music and writing – through the lens of science fiction, often addressing the moral dilemmas around AI while exploring the creative potential of digital worldbuilding, shot through with dark, absurdist humour. Over the last decade, he has incorporated video games and computer-generated animation into site-specific installations which he describes as ‘three-dimensional collages of found objects and situations’.
This year’s Artist Award in London is responding to the same brief, with Lek considering advanced technologies in his 2024 multimedia installation comprising video game, sculpture and video titled Guanyin (Confessions of a Former Carebot), drawing from gaming to mine the social, spiritual and emotional impact of artificial intelligence.
Lek’s Artist Award will focus on the eponymous character from his ongoing Sinofuturist cinematic universe. The project will combine narrative worldbuilding and mechanical sculpture into an immersive environment where players gradually uncover the story of Guanyin’s existence. In Lek’s world, Guanyin is a Carebot, a cyborg therapist created to save other AI from the brink of self-destruction. Named after the Buddhist goddess of mercy, Guanyin (literally, ‘the one who listens’) embodies the artist's interest in the spiritual and emotional dimensions of technology.
The dashboard sculpture presents Guanyin in a ‘royal ease’ pose, which became associated with the deity in the late ninth century. In their new incarnation, Guanyin keeps watch over all sentient creatures, both human and machine.
The audience follows Guanyin as she examines a series of self-driving cars who have been identified for problematic behaviour. Haunting in tone and meditative in intent, the project draws from the idea of 'walking simulators' – a genre of video games in which players discover clues by exploring an environment. Guanyin's thoughts accompany the player's journey, recounting journal entries, company reports and messages to the nonhuman patients in her care. These dialogues reflect how conversational AI – from the Turing Test to Alexa and modern chatbots – affect our interactions with the world.
A jury of industry professionals selected Lek’s proposal, including Canan Batur (curator and researcher) and Mariam Zulfiqar (Director, Artangel), alongside Eva Langret (Director, Frieze London) and Chris Rawcliffe (Artistic Director, Forma).
