THE CLOUD: a collaborative trajectory (Shanghai Lecture)

Written By Charles Lindsay

This far reaching lecture will travel frominterdisciplinary artist Charles Lindsay’s early work as an exploration geologist and photojournalist, through his discovery of the CARBON imaging process, which led to his position as the SETI Institute’s first artist in residence. [SETI = Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence] Lindsay’s art embraces technology to explore concepts about deep time and human perception. From the Stone Age to NASA Ames, culminating in the current collaborative relationship between Lindsay and SU Shaoyu, this talk will deliver broad spectrum information and a sneak look at the interactive “CLOUD” sculpture which Lindsay and SU are developing for the first Shenzhen Biennale, opening May, 2018. Lindsay and SU debuted their first collaborative work “Wind Tunnel: the Hongshan Experiment” in the Today Art Museum “.zip” show, Summer, 2017. SU Shaoyu will join Lindsay on stage to share their mutual interests in science fiction, archeological time, future ecosystems, and augmented reality.

783526091750553371-1024x584.jpg
Charles Lindsay

Charles Lindsay is an intermedia artist whose work explores the frontiers of technology, storytelling, and the cosmos. A Guggenheim Fellow, New York Times bestselling author, and founder of the SETI Institute’s Artist in Residence program (SETI AIR), Lindsay creates immersive installations that fuse salvaged aerospace components, AI-generated visuals, and biomorphic soundscapes into powerful vehicles for reimagining narrative. His projects ask provocative questions—what if an AI could dream? What if a Mars rover became a Zen monk?

Lindsay has collaborated with NASA Ames, Bell Labs, and exhibited globally, including at the MIT Media Lab. At SETI, he explored conceptual links between whale communication, Morse code, and AI pattern recognition. A dream in Kyoto—of a parking meter selling time and space in a Zen garden—became a realized installation, blending ancient philosophy with digital inquiry.

As an early alpha tester for OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video platform and a lifelong lucid dreamer, Lindsay pushes the limits of how AI can amplify human consciousness. His installations function as sensory laboratories, inviting audiences to navigate the terrain between digital revelation, aesthetic curiosity, and the collective unconscious. With humor, paradox, and deep curiosity, Lindsay’s work imagines new frontiers for art, science, and the soul.

https://www.charleslindsay.com
Previous

SONAR 25th Anniversary +D Lecture + Barcelona
Next

FIELD STATION V3. Akron Museum of Art Synapse lecture