Everyone, it's time you met Guài.
Guài, which in Mandarin roughly translates to ‘strange, demon or monster’, is an immersive new experience at Footscray Community Arts that melds artificial intelligence and augmented reality – along with some of Melbourne’s greatest sound artists – to transform your appearance into a fantastical creature.
It’s co-presented with this year’s Melbourne Fringe and given the cutting-edge technology on offer, it’s one of our highlights of the packed 2023 program. Guài is an augmented-reality mirror, which maps your face and pays close attention to your emotions, before morphing your reflection into a monster that captures an uncanny essence.
Described as a “personality-tester with beastly results”, it can change the way you see yourself. Moreover, it offers you a firsthand insight into a technology that will change the world, but perhaps not in the way you may imagine.
Guài at Footscray Community Arts
- Date: 5—15 October 2023
- Time: 10am—7:30pm (30 minute sessions)
- Cost: $20
- Tickets here
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Given the contemporary conversations surrounding AI, the meaning behind Guài is especially alluring.
The concept plays on AI’s alienating power – the fear and demonising inherent in society’s response – while simultaneously deconstructing the processes involved, in a medium that’s as appropriate and fascinating for children as it is for adults.
Based on a Melbourne University concept and designed by legendary sound artists Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim, the pedigrees of the artists involved are a major testament to Guài’s production values.
“Many years ago, Melbourne University created an AI program called the Biometric Mirror,” Wang told Footscray Arts.
“It is an artificial recognition program that can read and analyse people’s physical features and emotions. They took this prototype to a variety of music festivals, where I saw young people queuing up, eager to get a reading by the AI.
“If the AI told them something positive – like that they were attractive – they reacted incredibly well. However, if the AI told them something they didn’t want to hear, they got upset and emotional. The one thing they didn’t do was question how these conclusions came to be.
“From that moment, I wanted to work with this program to remind people to remain critical when thinking about AI and technology.”
Wang, a Sidney Myer Fellow, is widely known for her position as Melbourne Recital Centre’s artist-in-residence, her Guzheng mastery, and for her celebrated work with Tim Shiel. She won Best Musician at the Music Victoria Awards was named in the 40 Under 40: Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards in 2021.
Meanwhile, Lim – a postgraduate researcher at Melbourne University – has performed widely at Arts House, Science Gallery Melbourne, AsiaTOPA, White Night, Liquid Architecture, Melbourne Fringe, Arts Centre Melbourne, Sydney Dance Company and WorldPride…just to name a few.
She’s also co-founder of Project Eleven, a philanthropic initiative which supports the contemporary arts and serves on the boards of the Melbourne Recital Centre, Substation and Liquid Architecture as well as the Member’s Council for Musica Viva.
In short, the pair are at the heart and soul of Melbourne’s boundary-pushing music scene. Combined with a technological innovation that’s the world as we know it, you can expect an unforgettable experience.
“Working with Monica, we talked about how we could create a positive experience for audiences with this technology,” Wang continued. “That’s how we started designing Guài together.
“With stunning visuals and bespoke sound design, Guài is a unique and playful experience. This immersive augmented-reality mirror uses state-of-the-art technology to map your face (and emotions) and then transforms you into a fantastical monster avatar that reflects the uniqueness of you.”
“I now have a better understanding of AI”
Beyond the sheer excitement and fantastical experience that comes with tranforming yourself through technology, Guài promises a more nuanced understanding of AI’s place in contemporary art and culture.
“Previously, everything we knew about AI came from movies; tv shows; and articles you read online. We used to think that it was super advanced and that AI was bound to take over humanity as we know it.
“However, after working on this project together with Melbourne University, I now have a better understanding of AI. That it hasn’t gotten to the point where we must fear it, but where we must make the right choices for its future development.
“My work has helped me become more open-minded, with different voices and perspectives in the conversation helping me be more critical around my practice and explore how we can harness modern technology like AI in crafting artistic experiences.”
Tickets here.
