Lawrence Lek

Lawrence Lek (born 1982, Frankfurt, Germany; active London) is a multimedia artist, filmmaker, and musician. Lek uses computer generated imagery and advancing technologies such as VR to develop digital environments he describes as “three dimensional collages of found objects and situations.” His works engage issues of climate change, globalization, and xenophobia by probing the empathic relationship humans might have with artificial intelligence devices and the ways such technologies question ethical, moral, and legal precedent. By rendering real places (specific geographic sites) within fictional scenarios, his digital environments reflect the impact of the virtual on our perception of reality. 

Starting in March 2020, Princeton University students, faculty, classes, and campus activities gathered from remote locations in virtual rooms facilitated by digital technologies and applications as a precautionary measure against the spread of Covid-19. In conceiving the annual artist-in-residence program for this year, the Museum began with the question: What might it mean to host, to engage with, and to be an artist “in residence” at a time when international travel is restricted, and in-person gatherings are taking place in virtual spaces? 

This year’s residency prioritized an artist whose work engages deeply with the conceptual terrain of virtual interactions, probing the ways digitization transforms the fabric of local communities, impacts international relations, and expands the possible definitions of reality. Lek creates work using computer-generated technologies for digital dissemination to be experienced via screens. In this way, students, classes, and the public with whom he interacted during the residency experienced his art firsthand. 

Lek received his BA in architecture at Trinity College, University of Cambridge; an architecture diploma from the Architectural Association in London; a MA in Architecture II from The Cooper Union in New York; and a PhD in Machine Learning from the Royal College of Art, London. His work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe and Hong Kong and is included in the collections of the Guggenheim Museum, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Busan; British Council, London; Museum of London; and the Rubell Family Collection, Florida.