Lawrence Lek Unpacks the Emotional Fallout of Tech-Powered Futures in 'NOX High-Rise'
Exploring “the problems and promises of AI in an age of automation.”
Next month, the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles will debut NOX High-Rise, an immersive installation by London-based artist Lawrence Lek. Unfolding across multiple galleries, the exhibition fuses video, sound and sculptural elements to explore the evolving role of artificial intelligence in contemporary urban life, raising urgent questions about agency, empathy and the ethics of living alongside sentient technology.
The installation revolves around NOX — short for “Nonhuman Excellence” — a fictional clinical facility run by tech giant Farsight Corporation, that aid autonomous vehicles after they start exhibiting signs emotional instability. Mirroring the mental health troubles of humans, the cars undergo therapeutic treatment before returning to their jobs on the streets. This latest iteration of NOX High-Rise builds on the 2023 presentation of NOX at LAS Art Foundation in Berlin, which introduced the first chapter of his Sinofuturist universe.
Blending lush soundscapes and sci-fi mythos, Lek’s imagined clinic serves as a metaphor navigating the moral complexities of artificial consciousness. Through a mix of game design, cinematic storytelling and speculative architecture, the artists constructs layered digital worlds that interrogate the politics of automation and the social futures we’re hurtling toward.
In addition to NOX High-Rise, on view from June 28 through November 16, Lek will also present films from “Smart City,” the series that laid the conceptual groundwork for NOX, on June 29. Head to the museum’s website for more information on the exhibition and additional programming.
Hammer Museum
10899 Wilshire Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90024
