“In the year 2065, Farsight Corporation learns to harness the power of artificial intelligence.
eSports is the world’s fastest-growing industry.
With all work taken care of by algorithms, people spend all day playing video games against AIs.
Inside the game, can anybody tell the difference between art and the world?
Some people can sense it immediately, but others find that it takes them much longer.
It’s not really clear, because nobody’s ever stopped playing. Except us.”
Lawrence Lek presents a guided playthrough and soundtrack for his ongoing open-world game ‘2065’. Set within the fictional universe of his CGI film ‘Geomancer’, the game explores a future where AI has supplanted human creativity and automation has created a new culture of entertainment. The virtual world expands each year to incorporate the physical galleries where it has been exhibited. First commissioned for K11 Art Space in Hong Kong (2018), the game now includes the Barbican Centre in London (2019) and the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore (2020).
Lawrence Lek 陆明龙 is a London-based artist, filmmaker, and musician who unifies diverse practices—CGI, audio-visual performance, gaming, and fiction—into a continuously expanding cinematic universe. His works include the CGI film ‘AIDOL’ (2019), the open-world video game ‘2065’ (2018), the AI-coming-of-age story ‘Geomancer’ (2017), the video essay ‘Sinofuturism (1839-2046 AD)’ (2016), and ‘Nøtel’, a simulation of a fully-automated luxury hotel in collaboration with Kode9 (2015). Lek composes soundtracks and conducts live audio-visual mixes of his works, often incorporating playthroughs of his virtual worlds. His most recent release is Temple OST, the soundtrack to a site-specific installation at 180 The Strand, London (The Vinyl Factory 2020). Recent exhibitions include a major survey exhibition of the artist’s work titled Farsight Freeport at HeK, House of Electronic Arts Basel, AIDOL, Sadie Coles HQ, London (2019); 2065, K11 Art Space, Hong Kong (2018); Play Station, Art Night and the Whitechapel Gallery, London (2017).
