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Google Arts & Culture and LAS Art Foundation have unveiled two new artworks by Xin Liu and Eunjo Lee, created during an online artist residency. The works use Google AI tools to explore collective intelligence, ancient philosophy and psychology.
Google has announced two new artworks — “nom nom” by Xin Liu and “In Your Eyes, Before My Own” by Eunjo Lee — created during an online artist residency run by LAS Art Foundation in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture Lab. The works, unveiled on September 29, 2026, use Google AI tools to examine questions of philosophy, psychology and frontier AI research, including how intelligence and consciousness might emerge from interacting systems.
The residency was designed to support artists exploring digital world building and the simulation of living systems, according to a report published on Google’s blog by Freya Salway, Head of the Google Arts & Culture Lab. Salway wrote that the two artists were selected for their “exceptional technical skill and artistic imagination.”
Xin Liu’s “nom nom” explores how collective intelligence can arise naturally when millions of small particles interact. According to Google, the work draws on research into artificial life and emergent computation by Google researchers Blaise Agüera y Arcas and Alexander Mordvintsev, and on the concept of Neural Cellular Automata (NCAs) — models in which large numbers of particles form, compete and dissolve into what the artists describe as a living ecology.
Eunjo Lee’s “In Your Eyes, Before My Own” uses what the artist calls a “techno-alchemy” process linking ancient philosophy, linguistics and modern psychology. Google’s report states that Lee converted hand-drawn sketches into 3D assets using Nano Banana and Veo, layered motion-captured choreography onto characters, and mapped Korean Hangul phonetics over the 3D environment to build a linguistic system reflecting the landscape’s geometry.
Why These Commissions Matter
The announcement reflects continued investment by major technology companies in artist-led AI experimentation, a space where creative practice and machine learning research increasingly overlap. Both works translate technical research — neural cellular automata, generative image and video models — into publicly viewable art, giving audiences a way to engage with frontier AI concepts without a technical background.
The commissions also show how AI tools are changing artistic workflows. Lee’s process, which combined hand drawing, generative conversion, motion capture and linguistic mapping, illustrates a hybrid production pipeline in which AI systems mediate between traditional craft and digital output. For readers following debates about AI and creativity, the works offer concrete examples rather than abstractions.
The Residency Behind the Works
The Online Artist Residency is a program of LAS Art Foundation, a Berlin-based arts organization, run in collaboration with the Google Arts & Culture Lab. According to Google’s announcement, the program’s guiding question was how artists can use technology to deepen understanding of life, matter and consciousness. The two artworks are dated 2026 and were commissioned by LAS Art Foundation in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.
Xin Liu’s piece builds directly on published Google research: Mordvintsev is among the researchers known for work on neural cellular automata, the class of models that “nom nom” visualizes. Lee’s work references Indra’s net, a Buddhist philosophical concept of mutually reflecting entities, which she connects to neural networks.
“I want to explore an image of intelligence distributed across millions of tiny neural networks that react only to their surroundings — not as a singular mind above the world, but as a living ecology of fragments.”
— Xin Liu, artist
Details Still Emerging
Google’s announcement does not specify where or how the works can be viewed beyond a guided video for “nom nom,” nor does it give exhibition dates or whether the pieces will tour physically. The selection process for the two artists and the residency’s duration were not detailed. The announcement was published on Google’s own blog, so details about the collaboration come from the companies involved rather than independent sources.
Upcoming Showings and Program Future
Readers interested in the works can watch the video walkthrough of “nom nom” referenced in Google’s announcement. It remains to be seen whether LAS Art Foundation and Google Arts & Culture will stage physical exhibitions of the commissions or continue the residency with a new cohort of artists. Google encouraged audiences to follow its arts and culture channels for further updates.
Key Questions
Who created the two new artworks?
Artist Xin Liu created “nom nom” and artist Eunjo Lee created “In Your Eyes, Before My Own.” Both works are dated 2026 and were commissioned by LAS Art Foundation in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.
What AI tools were used?
According to Google, both artists used Google AI tools. Lee specifically converted hand-drawn sketches into 3D assets using Nano Banana and Veo, and Liu’s work is based on neural cellular automata research by Google researchers.
What is ‘nom nom’ about?
It explores how collective intelligence emerges when millions of small particles interact, based on research into artificial life and Neural Cellular Automata.
What themes does Eunjo Lee’s work explore?
Lee’s “techno-alchemy” process combines ancient philosophy, linguistics and modern psychology, including Korean Hangul phonetics mapped onto a 3D environment and the Buddhist concept of Indra’s net.
Source: rss
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