KEN LIU: What does it mean to be human in the age of AI
CLIENT
SYNAPSE
Lucid Lines
STAGE GRAPHICS
EVENT FILM
ILLUSTRATION
Created for the 2025 edition of Synapse, a conference exploring the intersection of art, society, and science for the acclaimed sci-fi author Ken Liu.
Inspired by his Silkpunk storytelling and his translations of Chinese science fiction, and screen adaptations of his stories in series such as Love, Death & Robots and Pantheon, Liu's work blurs the boundaries between technology, humanity, memory, and myth.
The animated visuals translate four of his short stories into illustrated narrative panels. The comic-inspired approach felt like a natural extension of science fiction, a genre that has long been shaped by sequential art.
Graphic novel art has the unique ability to make complex speculative ideas feel immediate, allowing readers to move through these narratives one frame at a time.
