cAI™: Soul Scan
DATE
2024.11.23 - 2025.6.1
LOCATION
NAVY YARD NO.1, MACAU
cAI™: Soul Scan presents approximately 20 new works created by cAI™ specifically for Macau, following its deep learning of Macau's rich history and culture under the guidance of Cai Guo-Qiang. The exhibition begins with a self-introduction generated by cAI™, followed by the debut “painting exhibition” of the “gunpowder artist cAI™.” Visitors are then invited to co-create digital fireworks with the “fireworks master cAI™” through an interactive installation. Finally, the cAI™ Divination Room, featuring a special interactive installation powered by the “diviner cAI™” and its robotic arms, offers an engaging experience filled with exploration and fun.
For this project, I led the development of two different cAI™-powered robotic arm systems designed to create a series of AI-driven gunpowder paintings. I worked closely with the artist and my team to prototype and execute the cAI™ Divination Room, an interactive AI installation.
Opening Ceremony of cAI™: Soul Scan
Photo courtesy MGM
Exhibition view of the interactive installation cAI™ Divination Room at Navy Yard No.1, 2024.
Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studio
Exhibition view of cAI™: Soul Scan at Navy Yard No.1, 2024.
Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studio
Diviner cAI™
The diviner cAI™ “possessed” the body of a black cat, interacting with viewers through two robotic arms that control the cat using a puppet-like mechanism. The black cat sits on a long table covered with white sand, where visitors are invited to write their 8-digit birthdate and silently make a wish or ask a question. The cat then enters a trance-like state of divination and gazes deeply into the questioner’s soul.
At the end of the divination, visitors receive a unique "oracle" artwork—representing a symbolic fragment of their soul and serving as a tangible keepsake of their experience in this interactive art installation.
My team and I specially trained a fortune-telling model that draws on a wide range of divination systems, giving particular weight to A-Ma culture. The results are not random; they are calculated through big data analysis of the visitor’s birthdate and the day's celestial conditions. This was an experiment in using big data and LLM to conceptualize “spirituality.”
The resulting oracle, modeled after Japanese omikuji, features a one-of-a-kind poem and a gunpowder-style illustration—both deeply connected to the individual’s divination outcome.
Courtesy Cai Studio
Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studio
The creation of most of the exhibition works was led by cAI™, from the initial conceptualization and composition to selecting the types of gunpowder, painting techniques, and process steps to achieve the desired visual effects, culminating in the robotic arm sprinkling the gunpowder and igniting it.
Gunpowder Painter cAI™
The creation of most of the exhibition works was led by cAI™, from the initial conceptualization and composition to selecting the types of gunpowder, painting techniques, and process steps to achieve the desired visual effects, culminating in the robotic arm sprinkling the gunpowder and igniting it.
Alchemists of the Real and the Virtual: cAI™ Creating Gunpowder Paintings
Video directed and produced by Zijian Wang
Installation view of cAI™: Soul Scan. Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studio
Cai Guo-Qiang & cAI™, cAI™ Lotus, 2024. Gunpowder on canvas. 152.5 x 183 cm.
Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studo
Cai Guo-Qiang & cAI™, cAI™ Echoes of Destruction, 2024. Gunpowder on canvas. 152.5 x 183 cm.
Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studo
Cai Guo-Qiang & cAI™, Embers of Light Civilization, 2024. Gunpowder and laser engraving on canvas. 200 x 200 cm. Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studo
Cai Guo-Qiang & cAI™, Beyond the Human: B, 2024. Gunpowder and laser engraving on canvas. 50.5 x 61 cm. Photo by Mengjia Zhao, courtesy Cai Studo