Baoyang Chen / Works JSON / Markdown

State Slices

2023 / AI Agent-based Works / LLM-driven robotic arms, optical assembly, screens

A state appears only when a screen, a prism, a robot, and a viewer briefly line up.

State Slices begins with two luminous white screens. They appear almost empty. The image is present, but the eye cannot read it alone.

A robotic arm carries a transparent hexagonal prism through the space. Some faces of the prism hold polarizing film; others remain open. When the right face enters the viewer's sightline, a slice of an artificial-life system briefly appears.

The work treats seeing as an event. A state arrives for a moment, then falls back into whiteness. To see one slice is to lose others.

Open interactive artwork page

Images

State Slices image 1
Through one analyzer face, a temporary slice of the artificial-life simulation becomes readable.
State Slices image 2
An oblique angle breaks the image into fragments, making the readout incomplete.
State Slices image 3
When the sightline passes through an open face, the screen remains present but the state falls back into whiteness.
State Slices image 4
Viewer position, robot pose, prism angle, and screen signal form the condition of appearance.
State Slices image 5
The modified LCDs appear as luminous white surfaces before a polarizing face enters the sightline.
State Slices image 6
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State Slices image 10

Videos