Ani Liu – Untitled (A Search for Ghosts in the Zoom Machine)

Untitled (A Search for Ghosts in the Zoom Machine)

Ani Liu

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Credit: Otto Felber

Credit: Anne Freitag

The idea of being human is an unstable construct. Recent technological innovations allow us to redesign ourselves profoundly— from networked prosthetics and artificial intelligence to the genetic code of life itself. Can our behaviors be reduced to algorithms? Can our bodies be upgraded with nonorganic integrations? Can sentience itself be manufactured in a lab? The original series “Untitled (A Search for Ghosts in the Zoom Machine)” comprises nine sculptures that examine personhood from anatomical, psychological, genetic, biochemical, behavioral, algorithmic, personal narrative and memory. Each sculpture is as tall as the artist, and each glass vitrine holds her liquid volume. But besides these basic dimensions, every piece is configured individually to represent one specific organ, body part, or intellectual capability generally considered to distinguish us as a species. For Hypertopia, Liu created one custom vitrine, continuing her emotional confrontation with being quantifiable.

About the artist

Ani Liu is a research-based artist working at the intersection of art and science. Her work examines the reciprocal relationships between science, technology and their influence on human subjectivity, culture, and identity. Ani's work has been presented internationally, including the Venice Biennale, Ars Electronica, the Queens Museum Biennial, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Asian Art Museum, MIT Museum, MIT Media Lab, Mana Contemporary, Harvard University, and Shenzhen Design Society. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, a Masters of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and a Master of Science from MIT Media Lab.

Ani is passionate about integrating multidisciplinary approaches into her practice and is currently teaching at Princeton University.  Her studio is based in New York City.