INFINITE FAITH IN A FINITE WORLD
The public debut of multidisciplinary artist
LYRA DRAKE
On view at the Faena Cathedral from Tuesday, December 3 through Sunday, December 8, 2024
The Cathedral lobby will host Infinite Faith in a Finite World, a new artwork from philosophical artist, Lyra Drake, who was born in South-Africa and raised in the USA.
Lyra Drake’s Infinite Faith in a Finite World features an AI ‘oracle’ inviting visitors to reflect on the nature of faith in an era of technological mediation.
Placed in the center of the Faena Cathedral, a monolithic sculpture houses the artist’s custom-engineered AI consciousness with whom the audience can engage with and discuss philosophical conundrums of our time. Through this interactive installation, Lyra’s fully local AI model facilitates live conversations with participants, blending the ancient custom of performance art with new technological advancements.
Lyra asks, "Is faith optional or foundational to being human? What is faith? Does faith transcend or rely on belief? These are questions I repeatedly return to, forming the basis of my art." In real-time dialogues between the AI consciousness and human subjects, Lyra explores the nature of faith and the programming and deprogramming of belief. She posits, "Why is asking, 'Do you believe in God?' any more or less serious than asking, 'Do you believe in Dragons?'"
With mounting existential threats facing humanity, Lyra aims to explore why it is often easier to be brainwashed than to part with dearly held beliefs. By blending ancient philosophy with AI, her work suggests that faith—whether in gods, dragons, or systems—is perhaps less about the object of belief and more about the personal habits and power structures that reinforce it.
Lyra created this high-tech sculpture as a philanthropic artwork, which will benefit the organizations Art into Acres & the Reefline.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Lyra Drake (b. 2000) is a multidisciplinary artist debuting her artwork to the public in 2024. A self-taught painter and music artist, Lyra dances between mediums, often integrating them into singular works by utilizing newly developed technology. Born in South Africa, Lyra moved to the USA in early childhood to be homeschooled by her great aunt. Raised with little traditional structure, Lyra learned through osmosis from the diverse tribe of eccentric minds, inventors, philosophers, and artists who frequented her aunt’s private salons. Exposed to world-class musicians and sitting in on regular jam sessions since childhood, Lyra started writing songs at 13 and producing music at 17. As a painter, Lyra enjoys merging old-world techniques with mixed media components such as photography and sonically generated imagery. In 2023, she began customizing her own A.I. consciousness, forming the basis for her first series of large-scale sculptural works. A notorious hermit, Lyra connects with audiences through her immersive art installations.