Sinofuturism (1839-2046 AD) by Lawrence Lek | Screening @ TIAT for Chinamaxxing
In conjunction with our Chinamaxxing exhibition, we're excited to screen Lawrence Lek's iconic Sinofuturism video essay.
single-channel video, 60m
⭑.ᐟ we will provide popcorn
About Sinofuturism ⭑.ᐟ
'Sinofuturism (1839–2046 AD)' is a video essay exploring the parallels between portrayals of artificial intelligence and Chinese technological development. Lek combines elements of science fiction, documentary melodrama, social realism, and Chinese cosmologies to examine the present-day dilemmas of China and the people of its diaspora.
Drawing inspiration from Afrofuturism and Gulf Futurism, Sinofuturism presents a critical and playful approach to subverting cultural clichés. In Western media and Orientalist perceptions, China is exotic, strange, bizarre, kitsch, tacky, or cheap. In its domestic media, China portrayed as heroic, stable, historic, grand, and unified.
Rather than counteract these skewed narratives, Sinofuturism proposes to push them much further. By embracing seven key stereotypes of Chinese society —Computing, Copying, Gaming, Studying, Addiction, Labour and Gambling — it shows how China's technological development can be seen as a form of Artificial Intelligence.
The video essay was originally produced when Lek was researching the geopolitical status of artificial intelligence when writing the script for his later film Geomancer. By using overlapping voices and sonic fragments to achieve a multilayered narrative, Lek began to explore the potential of the Sinofuturist avatar as a form of Other with its own emerging voice.The video essay is the first part of the Sinofuturist trilogy, followed by 'Geomancer' (2017) and 'AIDOL' (2019).
More on Lawrence Lek ⭑.ᐟ
Lawrence Lek is a London-based Malaysian Chinese artist, filmmaker, musician and game designer. Working with video game engines, he creates immersive worlds that explore identity, agency and emotion in the age of intelligent machines. His ongoing Sinofuturist universe spans films, playable games and installations, following alienated humans and sentient machines searching for purpose. Known for his influential video essay Sinofuturism (1839–2046 AD), he is a recipient of the Frieze London Artist Award, with work held in collections including the Guggenheim, M+ and Singapore Art Museum.
About Chinamaxxing ⭑.ᐟ
A group exhibition on view 9/25 - 10/17 at TIAT in SF ⭑.ᐟ
Drink hot water. Learn the characters. Buy the robot dog. Imagine the future happening somewhere else.
Earlier this year, “Chinamaxxing” emerged online as a playful embrace of contemporary China—its technology, infrastructure, food, fashion, and everyday life. But what, exactly, are you embracing—a culture, an aesthetic, a political possibility, a different version of yourself?
Across sculpture, moving image, poetry, performance, and interactive systems, Chinamaxxing follows objects, technologies, and rituals as they travel across borders. The artists explore what gets translated, imitated, misunderstood, or made intimate along the way.
The exhibition asks what we want from China, and what we might discover beyond wanting.
More on TIAT ⭑.ᐟ
tiat is the intersection of art & technology! we are an experimental gallery for creative technologists to experiment, exhibit, and expand their practice. ⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ tiat is 501c3 nonprofit, our EIN is: 39-3448606. tiat.place