Curated by Masako Shiba (BEAF / Brooklyn Experimental Art Foundation)
Art operates on a fundamentally different logic than science: there are no peer reviews or papers to publish. But it too is a method of inquiry—of simulation, of testing—and its flexibility allows for radical explorations of theories in ways that can feel both urgent and timeless.
At ALife 2025, the art program is not a standalone exhibition. Instead, it is fully integrated into the flow of the conference: encouraging radical thinking, activating spaces through embodied experience, and celebrating the unconventional storytelling of both artists and researchers. These works are intended not just as artistic interventions, but as conceptual contributions to the larger intellectual ecosystem of the conference.
ALife 2025 Participation
Role: ALife 2025 Ambassador
Merging Buddhist philosophy with digital avatars and pop culture, LuYang explores the nature of consciousness through his ongoing DOKU film series. As ALife 2025 Ambassador, LuYang actively participates in the full conference program—not as an exhibitor but as an attendee—approaching it with curiosity and openness “to listen to the talks of leading experts and gain insights into the latest developments in artificial life and AI. This is a theme that I find truly inspiring.”
ALife 2025 Participation
Artwork: Heart Mantras (2025)
Medium: Generative AI poetry projection + mirrors with inscriptions
Format: Installation (projection + mirrors)
Poet and AI researcher Sasha Stiles presents her artwork Heart Mantras, a real-time generative poetry installation created in collaboration with her AI alter ego, Technelegy, with sound by longtime studio collaborator Kris Bones. Displayed whenever keynote talks are in session, the piece acts as a heartbeat for the conference itself—its rhythm and language echoing the oscillations of life, logic, and code. The mirrored poem sculptures reflect a sense of self and signal, inviting viewers to contemplate poetry as both a biometric and computational presence.
ALife 2025 Participation
Artwork: Head in the Clouds (2023–2025)
Medium: 3D-printed sculpture, textile, AR, sound
Format: Installed in meditation room with artist-guided sound meditation every morning, 8:30 AM
Multidisciplinary artist Shlumper activates his sculptural installation each morning of the conference through a live, guided meditation. The energy of the space and installation is harmonized by the artist; designed as a zen garden, Head in the Clouds invites participants to cultivate mental clarity and emergence—both central concepts in ALife.
ALife 2025 Participation
Artwork: PION Plate (2023)
Medium: Aluminum plate that traveled to the ISS
Format: Physical artifact with video on monitor
Nomura’s PION Plate physically traveled to the International Space Station as part of a symbolic inquiry into higher-dimensional expression. Inspired by Nobel laureate Hideki Yukawa’s unified field theory—and the legend that he derived it by contemplating a mandala—the work suggests that ancient forms of cosmic wisdom may hold keys to the unknown. For Nomura, ALife is a way to explore life not only beyond Earth, but also beyond self.
Shlumper × Olaf Witkowski (Live Conversation)
A dialogue on ALife, art, and energy between multidisciplinary artist Shlumper and Dr. Olaf Witkowski, General Chair of ALife 2025.
LuYang × Masako Shiba (Live Conversation)
ALife 2025 Ambassador LuYang discusses his interest in artificial life and how it informs his recent artistic explorations.
Sasha Stiles (Pre-recorded + Commentary by Masako Shiba)
Poet and AI researcher Sasha Stiles presents her generative language works created with AI alter ego Technelegy.
Yasuo Nomura (Pre-recorded + Commentary by Masako Shiba)
A short documentary on PION, Nomura’s space-based artwork.
Ryuta Aoki (Pre-recorded conversation with Masako Shiba)
Artist and ALIFE Lab co-founder Ryuta Aoki reflects on his contributions to ALife 2018 and ongoing interdisciplinary projects.
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At ALife 2025, art is not a passive presence. It is a method of inquiry—one that sits beside science, not beneath it.
The artists participating in this year’s conference were not invited to exhibit “finished” works. Instead, they were encouraged to embed themselves into the life of the conference: to meditate alongside researchers, to attend talks, to let ideas evolve in real time. This integration allows artistic practices to engage with artificial life as more than a metaphor—it becomes a living, conceptual framework.
The result is a hybrid ecosystem of research and creativity. Whether it’s Shlumper’s sculptural meditation space activated daily, Sasha Stiles’ AI-generated poetry that pulses alongside keynote presentations, Yasuo Nomura’s space-borne mandala of dimensional inquiry, or LuYang’s fearless philosophical engagement with reincarnation and consciousness—each artist here contributes a unique and radical perspective on what it means to be alive, to simulate life, or to imagine new forms of it.
Curated as a conceptual project in its own right, the ALife 2025 Art Program proposes that perhaps the most vital scientific insights arise not just from data—but from curiosity, intuition, and the courage to imagine otherwise.
Masako Shiba is an independent curator and the co-founder and executive director of the Brooklyn Experimental Art Foundation (BEAF), a nonprofit supporting experimental artists and researchers. For ALife 2025, she serves as Director of the Art Program, curating the artistic contributions and conversations within the conference.
Instagram: @masakoshiba / @beaf.art
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