REDBASE Art proudly presents solo exhibition, Contactless Contact by Chinese artist Zoe Qi-Jing Li in collaboration with the University of New South Wales - Creative Robotics Lab and National Facility of HRI Research at UNSW Art & Design.  

 Examining spaces where humans and robots co-mingle, Zoe’s solo exhibition features an interactive artwork, Comb Machine: Almost Intimate (2025), completed by audiences that volunteer to have their hair combed by a robot. Through this interaction, the tension in space between the robot and the individual contemplating the permission of this act elicits questions of trust.  

 Who is controlling the robot? 

How is it programmed? 

What is the worst that can happen? 

Is it safe?  

A video feed accompanies the robotic element of the work, eliciting feelings of surveillance and the surrendering of control to a person possibly operating a complex system from a distance. Audiences will be able to view a livestream from Shanghai in which the robotic arm is visibly controlled in the Sydney gallery space.   

Zoe visits REDBASE as a Junior Academic Research Fellow from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), where she is completing a PhD in Computational Media and Arts. Her study examines how art can be a platform for complex engagements between humans and machines, namely those that appear autonomous, but collaborate in social behaviours, such as grooming.  

We look forward to welcoming you to an engaging experience of interactive media art and social robotics at REDBASE. Please join us for an Artist / Curator Talk at REDBASE Gallery, Saturday June 7th 2-3pm. Dr Deborah Tillman will interview Zoe Li on her practice whilst showcasing a live interactive performance for audiences.