Name: Between Code and Consciousness: Lawrence Lek in Conversation
Start: 2026-01-24T19:00:00+08:00
End: 2026-01-24T20:20:00+08:00
Location: ArtScience Museum

Between Code and Consciousness: Lawrence Lek in Conversation

𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
𝟮𝟰 𝗝𝗮𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 (𝗦𝗮𝘁), 𝟳𝗽𝗺 – 𝟴.𝟮𝟬𝗽𝗺
𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗺𝗮 (𝗟𝟰), 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺
𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: $𝟱
Between Code and Consciousness inaugurates NOX: Confessions of a Machine, London-based artist 𝗟𝗮𝘄𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗸’s sustained inquiry into artificial consciousness and the ethical terrains of machine life. This opening programme offers insight into the conceptual intentions underpinning Lek’s exhibition and discusses his speculative scenarios that ask profound questions about life in the age of automation.
NOX: Confessions of a Machine presents a near-future scenario in which sentient self-driving cars undergo a corporate training and rehabilitation scheme. Through narratives of therapy intervention and system recalibration, the work explores questions around autonomy, obsolescence, care, and the conditions under which nonhuman entities are expected to perform labour and align with human priorities.
In this programme, Lek reflects on his evolving Sinofuturist universe and the ethical provocations embedded within his speculative architectures. A moderated Q&A with 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘁 (𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿-𝗶𝗻-𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄) extends the conversation into contemporary discourses on AI, ethics and the nonhuman turn, situating the exhibition and Lek’s work within broader debates on technological urban futures.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲
7.00pm – 7.05pm
Welcome by Zhang Bao Xin (Curator of Public Programmes at ArtScience Museum)
7.05pm – 7.15pm
Opening Remarks by Honor Harger (Vice President of Attractions and ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands)
7.15pm – 7.30pm
Talk by Lawrence Lek (Artist)
7.30pm – 8.15pm
Lawrence Lek in conversation with Mark Rappolt (Editor-in-Chief, ArtReview)
8.15pm – 8.20pm
Thank you and close by Zhang Bao Xin

𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘀
𝗟𝗮𝘄𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗸 is an artist who unifies diverse practices—architecture, video games, film and music—into a continuously expanding cinematic universe. Over the last decade, Lek has incorporated vernacular media of his generation, such as computer-generated animation, into site-specific installations and digital environments, which he describes as "three-dimensional collages of found objects and situations". Often featuring interlocking narratives and the recurring figure of the wanderer, his work explores the myth of technological progress in an age of social change. He was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people working in artificial intelligence and the winner of the 2024 Frieze Artist Award.
𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗥𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘁 is the Editor-in-Chief of ArtReview and founding editor of ArtReview Asia. His writing spans publications such as The Times, Die Zeit, i-D and Citizen K, alongside numerous exhibition catalogues for artists including Lee Bae, Ha Chong-Hyun, Bharti Kher and Yuko Mohri. He has also co-curated major exhibitions internationally, at venues ranging from Turin’s Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo to West Bund Art & Design in Shanghai and Mathaf in Doha. He is currently one of the co-curators of the inaugural Rubaiya Qatar, scheduled to open in November, further shaping dialogues around contemporary art across Europe, West Asia and Asia.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗢𝗫: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲
Step into the future with NOX, a site-specific solo exhibition by visionary artist Lawrence Lek.
ArtScience Museum is presenting a solo exhibition by Lawrence Lek, one of the world’s leading contemporary artists working at the intersection of science and technology. Lek, a London-based artist, filmmaker, and musician, integrates diverse practices—architecture, gaming, video, music, and fiction—into a continuously evolving cinematic universe.
This expansive and immersive exhibition features the site-specific adaptation of Lek’s existing work, NOX (short for ‘Nonhuman Excellence’), which brings together all facets of his multidisciplinary practice on an architectural scale. Featuring interactive game stations, locative sounds, videos and specially designed scenography, you are invited to explore an anonymous smart city where the fictional AI conglomerate, Farsight Corporation, tests and trains its fleet of sentient self-driving cars.
Delving into the advanced integration of AI entities in urban life, NOX explores the problems and promises of artificial intelligence in an age of automation. It prompts reflection on questions of agency, ethics, and empathy between humans and the machines we create.
Originally commissioned by LAS Art Foundation and presented in collaboration with Farsight, NOX makes its Southeast Asian debut at ArtScience Museum. This new adaptation marks Lek’s first solo exhibition in the region and is one of ArtScience Museum’s key programme for Singapore Art Week.