THE CITY OF GENIUS
BY LULU LI
WHERE IMAGINATION BECOMES REALITY
The collection has been created ‘from bits to atoms’ via the artist’s AI explorations and pulls from exaggerated digital volumes and minimalist Zen references. Hybrid functionality is key, as is a deep appreciation for workwear and casualwear.
LULU LI
Lulu Li is a multifaceted cross-disciplinary designer and artist.
Her practices span many fields, including conceptual art, visual art, public art installations, interactive media, generative art, social innovation, curation, research, and concept development. She works with mediums such as text, context, icons, symbols, codes, objects, body, space, sounds, images, machine learning, gestures, puns, and parodies. She strives to be a capable conduit and storyteller by cultivating sensitivity and attentive listening to bring hidden elements into realization.
EXHBITION
Housed in a one-way mirror, the neighborhood explored light, reflection, and perception, evoking Lulu Li’s creative journey from AI pixel, to a physical, wearable manifestation of her imagination.
MONCLER X LULU LI
COLLECTION
The collection has been created ‘from bits to atoms’ via the artist’s AI explorations and pulls from exaggerated digital volumes and minimalist Zen references. Hybrid functionality is key, as is a deep appreciation for workwear and casualwear.
eyewear
COLLECTION
LIGHTNING STRUCK
#LIGHT INSTALLATION
@shenzhen Pingshan
Edition: 2 editions left (1st edition is collected by Pingshan Art Museum 2019)
Materials:
concrete/steel/PVC/light tubes
/electric power Size: eight meters
#LIGHT INSTALLATION
@shenzhen Pingshan
Edition: 2 editions left (1st edition is collected by Pingshan Art Museum 2019)
Materials:
concrete/steel/PVC/light tubes
/electric power Size: eight meters
“Lightning Struck” does not only symbolize a wakeup call, with tons of steel, concrete, electricity, and light, its physical presence makes it act like one. Plato’s cave is not merely a philosophical metaphor, it’s, in fact, a very literal depiction of how higher dimensions project their existence onto lower ones. What we observe from our sensory faculties is vast limited and deceitful as it may be just a projection of something that could never to perceived by us. This necessity of other unknown existences is a vital undertone in our human history. May it be folklores, mythologies, conspiracy theories, paranormal phenomenons, and even today the “not yet unified theory” in theoretical physics, all of this left great spaces for our imagination - one of the most primitive and powerful forms of artistic creativity. This imagination of otherliness or the courage of it is the only wing to break through the prison built by rationalism and materialism world views. Here “Lightning Struck” works as a reminder of our human beings’ courage and capacity to imagine otherliness.
click to watch the video
THE EMO PROJECT
#LIGHT INSTALLATION SERIES
Size: Various
Edition: 2 editions left
(1st edition is collected by K11 Shanghai 2012)
Materials:
concrete + steel + PVC + light tubes
+ electric power
#LIGHT INSTALLATION SERIES
Size: Various
Edition: 2 editions left
(1st edition is collected by K11 Shanghai 2012)
Materials:
concrete + steel + PVC + light tubes
+ electric power
This emo project series originated from my text msgs with close ones. When the emotionally charged messages were not answered and left in vain, or perhaps even not appropriate to communicate, I can’t help wondering their whereabouts, perhaps they fell into the cracks of virtual space, or were lost in the glitches of telecommunication web and stuck in the abyss of amnesia forever to be known. Fantasies of them landed on top of the old building, on a street corner, or just leaning next to a
dirty rubbish bin. The idea of the possibility one day I may catch a glimpse of them metabolize these wonderings. Random locations were chosen for large glowing personal text messages in urban spaces, that have a quality of being abandoned, overlooked or ignored, or too banal to be appreciated. It reminds me thinking of those places where all the communications felt through and became impossible.”
“情绪工程项目”系列源于我私人短信息，当它们作为情感的载体和媒介传递失效，或者因为不太恰当时空关系而变得袅无音讯。我总会好奇它们到底去了哪儿, 是掉在了虚拟空间的缝隙中, 还是丢失在电信网络的错乱编码中, 卡在失忆的时空深渊里永不可寻. 它们是否也会恰好落在建筑顶上，街头，荒地，或在湖的岸边, 甚至倚靠在垃圾桶的傍边。这个系列就是为了纪念那些情绪复杂的, 那些吞吞吐吐的, 那些言不达意的, 那些不知所云的, 那些欲言又止的时刻。语言之无力,沟通之无能。
“情绪工程项目”系列源于我私人短信息，当它们作为情感的载体和媒介传递失效，或者因为不太恰当时空关系而变得袅无音讯。我总会好奇它们到底去了哪儿, 是掉在了虚拟空间的缝隙中, 还是丢失在电信网络的错乱编码中, 卡在失忆的时空深渊里永不可寻. 它们是否也会恰好落在建筑顶上，街头，荒地，或在湖的岸边, 甚至倚靠在垃圾桶的傍边。这个系列就是为了纪念那些情绪复杂的, 那些吞吞吐吐的, 那些言不达意的, 那些不知所云的, 那些欲言又止的时刻。语言之无力,沟通之无能。
@K11 Shanghai collection
@art Beijing 2016
@Nanshan Beijing
@youth condo Beijing
@i:ProjectSpace
@CCD
TURNED A BLIND EYE
#art INSTALLATION
Edition: 5 editions
Materials:
metal /one-channel video
Size: Various
#art INSTALLATION
Edition: 5 editions
Materials:
metal /one-channel video
Size: Various
A pirate walked into a bar wearing an eye patch and one hook for his arm.
Barman asked:
“what happens to your eye?”
Pirate: “A bird shit in it then I lost my eye”
Barman: “No way, bird shit won’t hurt your eye like that?!”
Pirate: “Well, it’s the first day I had my hook on”.
The intellect is a sharp instrument, without the user’s menu, human beings seem to have a long way to go in dealing with such intellect, and learning how to use such a tool without causing self-harm or eventually (self) blinded by it. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only tool in the shop.
我们的智能是一个基于”切割”的犀利工具, 人类对驾驭这个具有智能的生命本身缺乏认知.我们如何在不可避免的过度开发智能的过程中和之后避免其戕害, 然而除却智能/智力我们仿佛也别无选择.
Barman asked:
“what happens to your eye?”
Pirate: “A bird shit in it then I lost my eye”
Barman: “No way, bird shit won’t hurt your eye like that?!”
Pirate: “Well, it’s the first day I had my hook on”.
The intellect is a sharp instrument, without the user’s menu, human beings seem to have a long way to go in dealing with such intellect, and learning how to use such a tool without causing self-harm or eventually (self) blinded by it. Unfortunately, it seems to be the only tool in the shop.
我们的智能是一个基于”切割”的犀利工具, 人类对驾驭这个具有智能的生命本身缺乏认知.我们如何在不可避免的过度开发智能的过程中和之后避免其戕害, 然而除却智能/智力我们仿佛也别无选择.
@CHAO art center
An NFT art project about cosmic life origin.
"Pan": "all", "Sperma": "seed".
The project is a visual exploration of the concept of panspermia, which is the hypothesis that life on Earth originated from microorganisms or chemical precursors of life present in outer space. The project comprises a series of digital artworks depicting alien life forms and their environments. The artworks are created using a combination of generative art techniques and hand-crafted elements. The project is intended to spark conversations about the origin of life and the possibility of life existing beyond Earth. It is a journey of discovery, a journey of understanding, and a journey of imagination.
Cosmic life origin is one of the hardest questions that demands persistent attention. Often when star gazing, one’s imagination zooms into the “future” while we look back into billions of years old light phenomena. Future-looking visions, fiction, fantasies, and even dreams are always based on contemplation, and reprocesses of the past, especially a metaphysical past. Mahayana Buddhism has illustrated a unique and broad view of life phenomenon as a whole and its working mechanism. The panspermia art project is fusing Buddhist metaphysical views and scientific hypotheses together, creating a fantastical world of cosmic life forms, hinting at some consensus between two seemingly vast different views.
These life forms are generated with self-trained machine learning models - StyleGAN2. by working with the machine’s “mind” - “the latent space” - a multi-dimensional mathematical space where semantic vectors of what’s “learned” are registered and stored. - for lack of a better metaphor, it’s like deep diving into the cosmos’ primordial soup, where an abundance of life forms are found with constant startlements.
The endless variations of something “likeness”, something“could be”, something “bizarre and freaky”, something “completely unrecognizable” are all tucked away in nooks and cranks of the machines’ sub-consciousness, like millions of neurons that are in constant fluctuation and waiting for some clearer emergencies. After experimenting with it I find the vast riches of probabilities and possibilities easily overload human perceptive faculties and collapse our categorical way of thinking. I wonder: does the universe “creates” in a similar way? Or does the universe “thinks" in this way? Or do androids “dream” in this way?
What I encountered in “latent space walk” has showered me how mother nature has always shown me: the strangest life form spurs, emerges, crossbreeds, evolves, mutates, and trespasses “domain”, “kingdom”, “phylum”, “class”, “order”, “family”, “genus”, species boundaries in constant motion as if they following strange “selfless”, “non-differentiated” “collaborative” code or protocol at a very fundamental level at beginning of genesis. what's regarded as "alien", "xeno", "astrobiologial" only reflects our anthropocentric limitation of sense-making.
No matter how exotic, bizarre, eccentric, or even appear so deformed that un-recognizable to the common eyes, in Buddha’s gaze all life forms are inherited with illuminating seeds within, which are sentient resonances of the whole.
"Pan": "all", "Sperma": "seed".
The project is a visual exploration of the concept of panspermia, which is the hypothesis that life on Earth originated from microorganisms or chemical precursors of life present in outer space. The project comprises a series of digital artworks depicting alien life forms and their environments. The artworks are created using a combination of generative art techniques and hand-crafted elements. The project is intended to spark conversations about the origin of life and the possibility of life existing beyond Earth. It is a journey of discovery, a journey of understanding, and a journey of imagination.
Cosmic life origin is one of the hardest questions that demands persistent attention. Often when star gazing, one’s imagination zooms into the “future” while we look back into billions of years old light phenomena. Future-looking visions, fiction, fantasies, and even dreams are always based on contemplation, and reprocesses of the past, especially a metaphysical past. Mahayana Buddhism has illustrated a unique and broad view of life phenomenon as a whole and its working mechanism. The panspermia art project is fusing Buddhist metaphysical views and scientific hypotheses together, creating a fantastical world of cosmic life forms, hinting at some consensus between two seemingly vast different views.
These life forms are generated with self-trained machine learning models - StyleGAN2. by working with the machine’s “mind” - “the latent space” - a multi-dimensional mathematical space where semantic vectors of what’s “learned” are registered and stored. - for lack of a better metaphor, it’s like deep diving into the cosmos’ primordial soup, where an abundance of life forms are found with constant startlements.
The endless variations of something “likeness”, something“could be”, something “bizarre and freaky”, something “completely unrecognizable” are all tucked away in nooks and cranks of the machines’ sub-consciousness, like millions of neurons that are in constant fluctuation and waiting for some clearer emergencies. After experimenting with it I find the vast riches of probabilities and possibilities easily overload human perceptive faculties and collapse our categorical way of thinking. I wonder: does the universe “creates” in a similar way? Or does the universe “thinks" in this way? Or do androids “dream” in this way?
What I encountered in “latent space walk” has showered me how mother nature has always shown me: the strangest life form spurs, emerges, crossbreeds, evolves, mutates, and trespasses “domain”, “kingdom”, “phylum”, “class”, “order”, “family”, “genus”, species boundaries in constant motion as if they following strange “selfless”, “non-differentiated” “collaborative” code or protocol at a very fundamental level at beginning of genesis. what's regarded as "alien", "xeno", "astrobiologial" only reflects our anthropocentric limitation of sense-making.
No matter how exotic, bizarre, eccentric, or even appear so deformed that un-recognizable to the common eyes, in Buddha’s gaze all life forms are inherited with illuminating seeds within, which are sentient resonances of the whole.
