Pioneering show explores human's tech-driven future

A solo exhibition of U.K. avant-garde art studio, Universal Everything (UE), being held in Shekou, invites audiences to go explore what it means to be human in a world of algorithms and digital selves.

Photos from WeChat official account of Design Society

Presented by Design Society in partnership with 798CUBE, the show, titled Future You — Code and Soul, stages a wide-ranging exploration of identity, emotion and evolution in an age when behavior, consciousness and feeling are increasingly digitalized and programmed. 

The exhibition is framed around “code” and “soul.” Code stands for the language of artificial intelligence, digital life and the architectures that will shape future societies; while soul refers to the emotional resonance and inner life that resist simple algorithmic replication. The show asks a pressing question: if our actions can be datafied and our feelings encoded, what will human beings evolve into?

UE has assembled nine representative works for the Shenzhen exhibition, each designed to bridge artwork and spectators. Rather than passive observers, visitors are active collaborators whose bodies, voices and movements help generate the art in real time. The show features a piece called “Future You.” Described as a digital mirror, it only activates when a visitor stands in front of it, translating motion into a reactive digital avatar. The more pronounced the movement, the stranger and more elaborate the mirror’s feedback. Over time the avatar “learns” and adapts, gradually constructing a more agile, enhanced version of the visitor.

The show combines immersive audiovisual environments, algorithmic lifeforms and site-specific installations to create a multi-dimensional participation experience. Through these encounters, the curators make the philosophical stakes of digitialization tangible: how do encoded emotion and digitalized identity reshape authenticity and community?

The exhibition underscores Shenzhen’s role as a hub of technological innovation and design. The organizers said the show will provide locals and expat visitors with a rare chance to experience cutting-edge digital art.

UE, founded in 2024, is known for pioneering dynamic screen-based work that combines real-time graphics, physical simulation and interactive design. The studio has collaborated with major brands and institutions, such as Apple, Hyundai Motor, British rock bank Radiohead, and Zaha Hadid Architects. Its works are produced in formats ranging from limited digital editions to immersive installations.

Future You — Code and Soul is a showcase of international digital art and a public thought experiment about humanity’s techno future.

Exhibition period: Through March 1, 2026

Location: Main Hall, L1, Sea World Culture and Arts Center, Nanshan District 

Admission: 88 yuan per person; 148 yuan for two; 118 yuan for one adult and one child 

Metro: Lines 2 and 12 to Sea World Station, Exit A and walk for about 10 minutes