trace
algorithm, omnidirectional microphone, dot-matrix printer, live-stream camera, speaker, LED strip light
dimensions and duration variable
2025
trace is a code-based interactive installation. in this installation, the audience's voice is captured by a microphone and converted into numerical data. this data is then transformed through a random sequence into simulated "raw information" of a language model. these unreadable signals pass sequentially through the screen, printer, camera, and speaker before returning to the microphone. each transmission introduces variation and noise, creating a self-referential feedback loop of constant re-encoding and decay.
through this self-generating circuit, trace explores how meaning is continuously generated and transformed through mediation itself. qiao approaches artificial intelligence as a medium of process rather than a producer of content — a system where fragments, errors, and gaps become sites of sense-making.
artist: minrui qiao
minrui qiao (b. 2003) is an emerging artist and researcher based in beijing. she is currently studying communication studies with a minor in philosophy. her work grows out of a fascination with logic, mediation, and the hidden languages of machines. through code-based installations and experiments with sound and image, she explores how uncertainty, error, and feedback loops shape human–machine communication.
trace
algorithm, omnidirectional microphone, dot-matrix printer, live-stream camera, speaker, LED strip light
dimensions and duration variable
2025
trace is a code-based interactive installation. in this installation, the audience's voice is captured by a microphone and converted into numerical data. this data is then transformed through a random sequence into simulated "raw information" of a language model. these unreadable signals pass sequentially through the screen, printer, camera, and speaker before returning to the microphone. each transmission introduces variation and noise, creating a self-referential feedback loop of constant re-encoding and decay.
through this self-generating circuit, trace explores how meaning is continuously generated and transformed through mediation itself. qiao approaches artificial intelligence as a medium of process rather than a producer of content — a system where fragments, errors, and gaps become sites of sense-making.
artist: minrui qiao
minrui qiao (b. 2003) is an emerging artist and researcher based in beijing. she is currently studying communication studies with a minor in philosophy. her work grows out of a fascination with logic, mediation, and the hidden languages of machines. through code-based installations and experiments with sound and image, she explores how uncertainty, error, and feedback loops shape human–machine communication.