DE SARTHE is pleased to announce its eighth annual de Sarthe Artist Residency (deSAR) as well as its resident artist, Liao Jiaming (b. 1992 in Guangdong. Lives and works in Hong Kong.) The artist will create new artworks using the gallery as his studio, which will be open to the public during normal gallery hours throughout the duration of the residency. deSAR runs from June 29th to August 30th and will culminate in a month-long exhibition opening August 31st.

Since the beginning of civilization, humanity has given birth to innumerable religions, cults, and superstitions in desire of divination. Bound by our earthly bodies, we subconsciously gravitate toward unknown beings who we believe are in possession of higher knowledge – but what does this entail in the contemporary information age? Over the course of the residency, the artist will transform the gallery space into a site reminiscent of worship, where AI and machines undergo sacralization as if prophets and relics of the technological era. To comprise a series of videos, installations, and mixed-media artworks, Liao aims to mediate between the scientific and the non-secular, exploring the unconscious human psyche behind artificial entities, rituals, as well as narratives.

During the residency, visitors are invited not only to interact with the artist, but also an AI-based installation created by Liao that generates fictitious tarot cards. Available only during the residency period, the resultant images will be used as raw materials in the artist’s creative process.

Gallery address: 26/F, M Place, Wong Chuk Hang