wayne mcgregor, random international and BMW i pair human & machine

a sculptural robot and dancers of studio wayne mcgregor illuminate the subject of artificial intelligence and its human likeness, in a series of digital world premiere performances. together with random international and BMW i, ‘no one is an island’ is a performance that pairs machine and human in a dynamic epiphany of light, freedom and creativity. it explores the capabilities of artificial intelligence as human likeness manifests, mirrors and transitions into a form that, equally, is capable of empathy from the audience.

‘humans aren’t islands. we are so much more connected and we aren’t singular. we have no choice on the matter,’ states hannes koch, one of the founders and directors of random international, to designboom. we visited studio wayne mcgregor in london, UK for an exclusive preview of the sculptural robotic performance in development, ahead of the digital debuts in november, december 2020 and january 2021 – register for the live shows, here.

‘no one is an island’ presented by random international, superblue, studio wayne mcgregor and BMW i; dancers: jacob o’connell and rebecca bassett-graham (company wayne mcgregor). photo: ravi deepres. © BMW AG

‘no one is an island’ is an ongoing collaborative performance between studio wayne mcgregor, random international, BMW i and superblue. they all share a passion for pushing boundaries and exploring new territories. specifically, they are moved by questions about how future generations will interact with automated and digitalized processes as well as environments, all whilst embracing sustainability. the performance explores electrified movement steered by advanced algorithms. the result reflects upon how the human mind empathises with artificial intelligence.

‘I am fascinated by the emergence of the human body,’ explains wayne mcgregor to designboom. hannes continues to add, ‘as it pretends to be human, it explores the ability for us to recognize our own vulnerabilities and likeness, which can scare some. that is why we need to explore empathy.’

the robot in question is the centerpiece of the performance. sitting atop two parallel rails, a pair of seemingly independent bodies feature spindles of arms each with bulbs of lighting illuminating their tips. from front on, the viewer sees a human-like silhouette emerge from the light, stretching in size and walking back and forth towards the audience as each body and its arms move. the sculpture experiments with the minimal amount of information needed to create an animated form recognizeable as human.

‘no one is an island’ presented by random international, superblue, studio wayne mcgregor and BMW i. photo: ravi deepres. © BMW AG

the first stage of the collaboration was to understand the possibilities of the robot – how it can move and the form it can take. the following stage explores how to accentuate the empathy to the audience. this is where the performative element is introduced.

‘the first step was understanding the physicality of the instrument,’ notes wayne. ‘how can we create an empathy with the performers as if it is a musical instrument as opposed to a robot? how do we then create an empathic relationship with the audience? it is all about the walk. the performance reflects our collaboration to teach the robot to take its first step. it learns quickly from there onwards. the human form and walk is so important for us to attach meaning, relate and empathy. there was a beauty to teaching ‘her’ to walk.’

‘no one is an island’ presented by random international, superblue, studio wayne mcgregor and BMW i; dancer: rebecca bassett-graham (company wayne mcgregor). photo: ravi deepres. © BMW AG

hannes adds realism to the conversation: ‘it is very difficult to mimic biology, especially the human body. that was why we paired the robot with the human – to mimic the movement.’ dancers from studio wayne mcgregor further explore the relationship between humans and technology. energy seems to jump between the participants – both the dancers and robot – throughout the performance. the pairing makes the experiment more relatable to the audience. it normalizes our interaction with artificial intelligence, especially our capacity to empathize with machines.

‘no one is an island’ presented by random international, superblue, studio wayne mcgregor and BMW i. photo: ravi deepres. © BMW AG

the performance comprises sculptural, performative and musical elements, conceptualized as a gesamtkunstwerk – a work of art that comprises many mediums. these interventions are scored by chihei hatakeyama to add another dimension to the sculpture. the dialogue between all collaborators will continue into 2021 when, hopefully, a live performance will be possible.

‘human beings are imperfect, even the top performers. it is interesting to work with something that is so precise. it explores what it is to be living,’ concludes wayne mcgregor to designboom.

‘no one is an island’ presented by random international, superblue, studio wayne mcgregor and BMW i; dancer: rebecca bassett-graham (company wayne mcgregor). photo: ravi deepres. © BMW AG

‘no one is an island’ presented by random international, superblue, studio wayne mcgregor and BMW i; dancers: rebecca bassett-graham and jacob o’connell (company wayne mcgregor). photo: ravi deepres. © BMW AG