Ian Cheng: 'Life After BOB'

Ian Cheng’s exhibition Life After BOB at Halle am Berghain in Berlin is the latest manifestation of LAS’s mission to open transformative futures through experiences of art. Cheng’s show picks up on a topic of central concern to LAS: the complex implications of rapidly evolving technologies. Life After BOB: The Chalice Study is the first episode of a planned eight-part miniseries about mental health and existential fitness in the 21st century. For the first time, Cheng also developed an experience enhancing environment that brought different atmospheres of Life After BOB to life inside Halle am Berghain’s 1,435-sqm space.

The film unfolds in 2074, as an AI technology called BOB (Bag of Beliefs) promises to relieve existential stress, by co-piloting human consciousness. Unforeseen consequences ensue after neural engineer Dr Wong installs a BOB into the nervous system of an unwitting test subject, his daughter Chalice. 

‘His disquieting vision of the development of AI asks us to confront the ways in which technology is already deeply entrenched in contemporary experience, not just in daily life, but in our navigation of selfhood.’

– Amira Gad, Head of Programmes at LAS and curator of the exhibition

The LAS x Ian Cheng collection was created for the exhibition Life After BOB at Halle am Berghain. Including apparel, a music box, a manga and a poster, it extends the film into viewers’ homes.