Photography by ILYES GRIYEB
Discover the depths of “NOX”, the LAS Art Foundation exhibition that envisions a future where the fictional realm confronts the psychological implications of self-driving cars. With an exclusive interview, the exhibition’s curator Carly Whitefield delves into the groundwork and creative orchestration of “NOX” from inception to execution, unravelling artist Lawrence Lek‘s intent behind this speculative sentient city. Discover how “NOX” emerges as a compelling narrative that reflects our evolving relationship with technology through a blend of present-day AI integration and futuristic projections.
hube: Could you share some insights into the research and planning involved in curating an exhibition like “NOX” from concept to execution?
Carly Whitefield: LAS Art Foundation has been in awe of Lawrence Lek’s speculative world-building and visionary use of simulation and game engines for some time and began a conversation with him in 2020. As site-specificity is a key aspect of Lek’s approach, the project really took shape after we confirmed the multi-story former department store at Kranzler Eck as the exhibition venue. From there, Lek developed a concept that marries the specificity of this iconic venue with his research on the smart city and autonomous transportation. Working at this ambitious scale, the LAS team collaborated closely with the artist and his creative team, and all exhibition vendors to plan, produce and run the exhibition.
The research for this project stems from Lek’s PhD dissertation ‘Cinematic Assemblage: Sinofuturist Worldbuilding and the Smart City’ (2021) and builds upon the “Sinofuturist Cinematic Universe” he’s been mounting across films, installation, video games, and soundtracks. These were valuable research tools for the LAS team in shaping discussions with the artist and in turn, the exhibition’s interpretation, talks programme, and “Impulse” tour series, led by local practitioners in diverse fields, from Buddhism to expanded cinema to AI training.
h: Were there any significant challenges or unexpected hurdles you encountered while curating “NOX”? If so, how did you overcome them?
CW: Exhibiting large-scale art installations in venues that are not purpose-built comes with rewards, surprises, and challenges alike and requires a lot of creativity. NOX’s success is very much owing to the artist’s thoughtful response to the space and flexibility in shaping the work, and to the extended production team’s expertise in navigating the parameters and unknowns of working in listed spaces.
The sheer size of the work has its challenges, too: Lek’s practice of architectural simulation meant that every change to the exhibition design across three floors needed to be changed in the simulated spaces seen in the videos and in the game. But, as always, some hurdles arise when we are prompted to try new approaches: Kranzler Eck’s beautiful dome and central void require specific acoustic approaches that led us to consider locative audio headsets. This became a key part of our work and conceptually strengthened the exhibition as an open-world environment for exploration, with audiences being able to generate soundscapes through their movements.
Taking such risks pays off: audiences enjoy experiencing long-form artworks that unfold across such vast space and seem very appreciative to be back inside or explore one of Berlin’s unique architectural sites for the first time.
h: How do you envision the audience interacting with and responding to “NOX”? What impact or emotions do you hope the exhibition will evoke?
CW: NOX invites visitors to explore a near-future world through a combination of locative audio, CGI videos, installation, and a video game. Its general ambience and mood are inspired by film noir, a genre in which characters are often searching for meaning amidst technological advancements in the urban environment. Similarly, NOX’s audiences are offered fragments of narrative in the form of audio logs and poetic passages that must be pieced together as they move through the space’s three floors. They follow a sentient self-driving car’s literal and inward journey through a five-day rehabilitation programme. It’s quite a unique merging of cinematic storytelling’s linear development with non-linear elements of game design in the form of open-world exploration and easter eggs.
The video game on the top floor of the exhibition marks a shift in tone, allowing audiences to engage in the process of caring for cars and observe how their decisions impact the well-being of the vehicles.
Lek’s personification of the cars throughout the show opens a space for relation and empathy. I really hope that audiences will be prompted to think about the way automation is reshaping relationships and structures in our present day, and what the future of personhood could look like for humans and non-humans alike.
h: You are interested in creative projects that combine art, technology and science. How do you think this collaborative approach pushes the traditional boundaries of art?
CW: Art’s cross-pollination with science and technology has continuously expanded our understanding of what art can be. The first project I worked on with LAS was Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s Pollinator Pathmaker, a growing network of living sculptures composed of plants which are designed by a complex algorithm written to accommodate the needs and habits of a diverse array of pollinating insects. The project was a collaboration with an AI scientist, horticulturists, and pollination experts in the UK and at the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin. It was inspiring to begin with a project that scrutinises the role of art, proposes a tangible response to the climate and biodiversity crises, and decentres human aesthetics in its shift toward post-anthropocentric thinking.
Artists who dive into emerging technologies also produce new artistic media, aesthetics, and forms of interaction, but equally as important are the questions that they ask in the process, like what these technologies imply and how ethical it is to use them. Another LAS project, Libby Heaney’s Ent-, is a perfect example; it is one of the first artworks taking quantum computing as both medium and subject matter. Not only does it explore an aesthetic produced by the unique qualities of quantum computing and artistically thinking through its possibilities but serves as an important platform for demystifying and discussing the technology independent from corporate or national agendas.
h: At LAS you lead the curatorial team in the realisation of forward-looking projects and site-specific commissions. What are your plans for future projects and collaborations between artists and experts in science and technology?
CW: We’ll continue working closely with artists to stage ambitious exhibitions and develop R&D projects that speak about critical issues of our times in new and meaningful ways. In addition to commissioned projects, we will be working with artists to adapt existing works to new exhibition formats and expand LAS’s online and public programmes. All is to be announced shortly!
Imagery of “NOX” courtesy of LAWRENCE LEK
Photography of LAWRENCE LEK courtesy of ART BASEL
Experience Lawrence Lek’s “NOX” intersection of humanity and technology firsthand at Kranzler Eck, Berlin, from October 27, 2023, to January 14, 2024.
