Following the mechanical and electrical revolution of industry, machine-like artificial workers were bred in tanks in Karel Čapek‘s 1920 play »R.U.R.« and christened »robots«. The birth of these artificial beings reflects the longed-for liberation from forced labour – corresponding to the Czech word robota – or industrial work. Somewhat later, in Fritz Lang‘s »Metropolis«, salvation for the entire subjugated working class lies in the creation of a machine being.
We are well acquainted with newer virtual hybrid beings since R2D2 in »Star Wars«, the Transformers or the Avatars, but we encounter real humanoid robots with increasing frequency. On YouTube they perform synchronised somersaults or hit the basketball hoop with infallible accuracy, and sometimes they come to café tables to collect empty cups.
Does humanity have no better idea than to technically clone the species during the ongoing population explosion towards soon 8 billion people? On the threshold of the AI age, the dream of a motoric and cognitive replica of humans with feelings and consciousness has become an irresistible motivation for scientists and engineers. The development of the latest humanoid robots also reveals human hubris when they create a creature in their image, like gods.
The typological series of 18 photographs aims to make the essence of these technical creatures tangible and to ask questions about what ideas humans have for their artificial likeness.
The series »Hallo, Humanoid.« is part of the work »Tomorrow is the Question«.
