Ian Cheng: Life After BOB
The Shed
2021
Production | Exhibition Grant
Ian Cheng’s Life After BOB (LAB) is a genre-defying film animated using video game software to explore the transformation of human life scripts in an era of AI. The first episode in a six-part anthology, LAB follows Chalice Wong, a 10-year-old girl whose father has installed BOB (Bag of Beliefs) into his daughter’s nervous system to help guide her through the psychological challenges of growing up in a complex world. When Chalice incidentally automates away ten years of her life and comes face to face with an unrecognizable version of herself, she must decide to either embrace this new reality or forge an unknown path decoupled from AI assistance. Marking a new chapter in Cheng’s longtime engagement with the ethical questions raised by human’s increasing integration with technology, LAB merges the traditional narrative experience with Unity’s open system to explore a new means and methodology of storytelling. Upon viewing Life After BOB, visitors have access to make real-time changes to the narrative, creating a dynamic and ever-changing viewing experience. Life After BOB enjoys an extensive international tour, connecting with audiences in Arles, New York, Berlin, and Seoul.
The Shed produces and welcomes innovative new art and ideas across all forms of creativity to build a shared understanding of our rapidly changing world and more equitable society. Life After BOB continues to engage the public through a series of online talks with the artist, members of The Shed’s curatorial team, and individuals from the field of animation and game development. In addition to the interactive nature of Life After BOB, these highly accessible events invite both traditional visual art audiences and the gaming community to explore the intersection of art and technology and the future of visual media and television.
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Installation view: Ian Cheng: Life After BOB, The Shed, New York, September 10 – December 19, 2021. Photo: Maria Baranova. Courtesy The Shed.
