Traveling with Eduard, a wooden camera from 1880, and in collaboration with human-machine interaction scientist Dr. Erwin R. Boer, Tuerlinckx visited world-leading researchers, scientific institutes, and universities around the globe. On her journeys, she makes portraits of the world's most innovative androids. In these interactions with these mechanical AI-driven entities, Tuerlinckx explores what humans can learn from their technological inventions by photographing androids looking as human as possible.

Androids (2016-19) aims to reflect on the definition of the human and how this might evolve if humankind proceeds with mechanization and digitalization. Capturing these androids, the future of human innovation with the wooden camera, one of our oldest mechanical tools to portray the world around us. By making these portraits of human ingenuity, Androids explore the biometric movement and imitate and enhance the best biological technologies found in men and nature.

Some of the portraits of androids on display in the VU ART SCIENCE gallery include Ai-Da, Harmony, Sophia, PK DICK and BINA48.

All images: ©Wanda Tuerlinckx

Header image:
Ai-Da. Oxford UK

Images below:
BINA48. TMF Vermont US
Harmony. Realbotix LA US
Sophia. Hanson Robotics Ltd Hong Kong
Ai-Da. Oxford UK