Art Basel Miami Beach 2023: Alex Israel’s “REMEMBR: The Ultimate Memory Machine” Installation

Inside the Collectors Lounge, the acclaimed artist’s AI-powered experience draws inspiration from the all-electric BMW i5

Future-forward art can be found everywhere at Art Basel Miami Beach—including throughout the Collectors Lounge. It was there that we got up close and very personal with “REMEMBR,” an AI-powered installation developed by acclaimed LA-based contemporary artist Alex Israel which draws inspiration from BMW‘s new, all-electric i5. An amalgam of artistry and technology, “REMEMBR” aligns seven screens (each in the shape of Israel’s profile, a signature of his work). Those screens showcase a personal montage of imagery drawn randomly by an algorithm from the smartphones of people participating in the immersive experience.

To participate, fair attendees installed an app on their smartphones and then granted it permission to access their entire photo album. It then selected imagery to assemble into a two-minute video, set to a beat by Blake Slatkin. The sensation that an unknown app was trawling through your personal photography was both anxiety inducing and liberating—a tension that ultimately is part of the artwork. Israel trained the app to avoid screenshots and any potential explicit material. The final product was a thoughtful reflection on memory and the passage of time, and once it played on all the installation’s screens, in front of everyone, it was gone forever—not in the app, or in your phone. It was truly ephemeral—and yet not because all of the source material exists in your device. Israel visited Munich and worked in tandem with BMW to develop the technology that powered the app.

“I was really interested in doing a project with artificial intelligence,” Israel shared during the press preview. “I was trying to figure it out. I was talking to a lot of people. Then I got a call from Hedwig [Solis Weinstein, Head of Brand Cooperations, BMW] who asked me, ‘Do you want to do a project with artificial intelligence for Art Basel Miami Beach?’ ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘I do. Do we have time to do this?’ Now it was a big question mark. And we just decided to jump in the deep end and see.”

Alright, BMW and I see eye to eye here: color can really enhance and change your mood and your vibe

Alex Israel

When Israel went to Munich and met with the head designer at BMW, Domagoj Dukec, and saw the i5. “A lot of the things about the car were interesting to me and I aligned with,” Israel says. This included the atmospheric modes in the car, called Mind Modes: one for sport, expression, relaxation. “When you pick one of those modes, all the colors in the car change,” he adds. “They’re really meant to change your mood, elevate you and enhance your experience. I was like, ‘alright, BMW and I see eye to eye here: color can really enhance and change your mood and your vibe.’” Israel was also drawn to the fact that AI was utilized in the car for various features.

“My phone is like an external hard drive for my brain,” he says, “especially when it comes to pictures. Am I ever going to go and look at all these pictures in my life ever again? Probably not.” It made Israel wonder if there was a way to go through them all and look at a life in a way that was entertaining—like an Apple memory push from your camera reel. “We would need more than one screen and we’d certainly need a lot of editors—but maybe we could use AI as our editor. So that’s what we did.”

When asked about the origin of his ideas, Israel tells COOL HUNTING that they “just manifests like a lightning bolt. Usually when I’m driving.” It’s an apt art studio, especially as a BMW collaborator. Israel’s “REMEMBR” joins the uppermost ranks of our Miami Art Week highlights as a work that honors the style of a well-known artist but evolves it into something both personal and universal that’s oriented toward the future.

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