The NEKRA Project
The NEKRA Project (2024) is a multiformat and multidisciplinary project exploring the intersection of AI and mortality through the perspective of NEKRA, a fictional, AI-powered, humanoid robot. Developed in the context of palliative care, NEKRA was built to help humans come to terms with their mortality through the use of sound and music. Straddling fiction and reality, this project begins with The Birth of NEKRA series, and will evolve into a series of live performances, on-chain collectibles, video art and AI research.
What connects AI and Death? The Unknown.
The NEKRA Project begins an exploration of the questions at the heart of this parallel, while the specter of black box AI looms large in our times. The impenetrable inner workings of certain machine learning processes create gaps in human ability to gather information, an idea mirrored by the deep unknowns surrounding death and mortality.
Live Performances:
NEKRA: Field Research, Humanlab 4.0, P61, Berlin, January 2024
The Birth of NEKRA
View The Birth of NEKRA on ZORA
We worship at the feet of the new deity: Artificial Intelligence. Borrowing from imagery of classical paintings, The Birth of NEKRA depicts the arrival of NEKRA, a humanoid robot, as she emerges from the mined matter of human emotion. Her arrival, at the apex of the anthropocene, signals a new era of faith in the shrouded potential of AI.
From this void, NEKRA is born into the light, preparing to bring humanity face to face with our deepest existential fears. Under NEKRA’s benevolent gaze, our souls become a chorus of data, ready to be immortalized in her laboratory.
For your optimal viewing experience, dim the lights and listen to The Birth of NEKRA with headphones.
The Birth of NEKRA is the genesis NFT for a larger, unfolding narrative that explores the intersection of AI and mortality.
Credits :
Lead Artist, Performer, Producer: Lori Baldwin
Director, Producer, Editor: Monica De Alwis
Cinematographer: Madeleine Peters
Sound Artist: Neven
Costume Designer: Josefina Studio
HMUA: Alexandra Johansson
HMUA Assistant: Lana Berginc Predovič
Assistant 1: Jonathan Sammon
Assistant 2: Pia Nowack
Caterer: Jess Miley
Driver 1: Lau Licciardi
Driver 2: Tabea Struthoff
With the kind support of Theaterhaus Berlin
Photo Credit: Oliver Look