Data Rex Machina

September 7,2022 New York, Spring Break

Data Rex Machina

deconstructs Jan van Eyck’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, reinterpreting its religious iconography through the lens of artificial intelligence. Agnieszka Pilat’s collaboration with the robotic dog Spot pushes Renaissance realism into the digital age, questioning where human authorship ends and machine agency begins.

At its core, the installation explores the tension between idolatry and surveillance, reflecting the anxieties of an algorithmic world where data shapes identity. Spot’s actions blur the lines between human programming and emergent machine consciousness, presenting the robot as a modern Christ-like figure—the Machinic Lamb. Through intimate and symbolic works, including Spot’s own rendering of Madonna and Child, the installation invites viewers to reflect on their relationship with technology and the potential for harmony between creator and creation.

Equipped with an articulating arm, Spot embodies the

Machina

, challenging viewers to consider a future where humans and AI evolve in symbiosis rather than conflict. By mirroring van Eyck’s intimate portrayal of creator and creation, Data Rex Machina reframes technology not as an oppressor but as a potential vessel for meaning, agency, and even grace.

In its portrayal of celluloid sacrifice, Data Rex Machina provides a modern vision of redemption for viewers to risk believing they are worthy of love no matter what images are reflected in their mobile screens. Like the visceral gift of oils and light provided by Van Eyck, Pilat provides a positive vision of Creator and created, where viewers can experience a Divine relationship to data and create a positive vision for their lives that is all their own.