Somerset House Studios: Artists Xin Liu and Keiken in Conversation

Please note we would want to refine the approach and title if programmed.

Somerset House Studios is a space for experimentation in the centre of London connecting artists, makers and thinkers with audiences. The Studios supports artists across disciplines to push bold ideas, engage with urgent issues and experiment with new technologies.

At the heart of Somerset House, the home of cultural innovators, up to 70 artists are resident at any one time for a period of between one and seven years, with a number of shorter term national and international residency programmes running alongside.

The Studios develops ambitious cross disciplinary projects and creative collaborations on a range of scales, and powers Channel, Somerset House’s online space for art, ideas and the artistic process. We regularly commission innovative, urgent work, which furthers the role of the artist in the practical and critical development of new technologies.

We propose a talk with two of our most innovative residents working at the intersection of speculative futures, technology, and identity, decentring the conversation from the usual western male perspective. Both Liu and Keiken are invested in exploring how we can push the boundaries of human experience through digital tools and technologies.

Liu, with her deep engagement in both art and engineering, creates work which examines how technology shapes our perceptions of the world and the self. Her research into cosmic metabolism and extraterrestrial explorations offers a lens through which she can imagine a future that transcends the current limitations of space, time, and human understanding.

Keiken’s collective approach to building speculative futures takes a collaborative, multidisciplinary path that combines the physical and digital worlds. They imagine radically different social, political, and economic realities through a diverse array of mediums—ranging from Extended Reality (XR) to gaming and blockchain technologies.

This exchange between two forward-thinking artists pushes us to reconsider the very fabric of our existence in the face of technological and societal change, imagining new futures that are both expansive and inclusive.