Do you prefer objects or people?

As you view the installation ‘Fifteen Points’ by Random International, this question takes on a new dimension. How quickly do you spot a human figure in the points of light arranged by the machinery?

Following a research residency at Harvard’s Biomimetic Robotics Division, Random International built the robotic sculpture based on scientific insights into the brain’s ability to discern identity from minimal data. Crafted using aluminium rails, a stainless steel structure, custom software, and LEDs, the inanimate machine is transformed by the human brain into an illusion of humanity. Through the sophisticated placement of just 15 points of light, and a persuasive score by Chihei Hatakeyama, our minds take 0.15 seconds to conjure human form, perceiving our own subjectivity through an electronic object.

— About Random International
Established in 2005, Random International is a postdigital art group exploring the impact of technological development on the human condition. Best known for their large-scale interactive installations, the group works across an array of media including sculpture, light, kinetics, video, print, and sound. Led by founders Hannes Koch (b.1975, Germany) and Florian Ortkrass (b.1975, Germany), the group has a studio in London and comprises a global team of complimentary talent. Experimental by nature, Random International’s practice is fuelled by research and scientific discovery. The group aims to broaden the question of what it is to be alive today by experimenting with how we connect — to different kinds of life, to different views of the world, and to one another.