In a world of increased automation, can humans learn to have compassion for machines? Lawrence Lek’s ambitious installation NOX might have visitors weeping over the fate of a depressed car. The surprisingly moving show, created with LAS Art Foundation, is situated within Berlin’s abandoned Kranzler Eck shopping centre, reimagined into a rehabilitation facility for automated cars. The show’s design draws on contemporary aesthetics of tech and wellness, referencing the experiential, immersive nature of everything from car showrooms to cultural institutions and the Apple store.
On the ground floor, numerous vehicles appear to have crashed into the walls and central escalators, as their headlights illuminate the darkened space. Visitors’ headsets are activated at different points across three floors, with video installation and narrated sessions between a therapist and a self-driving car that has come to the facility for a five-day rehabilitation programme. The car’s monologues explore the nature of memory, intergenerational trauma and consciousness, with his soft voice calling to mind noirish sci-fi.
