Before we arrive in our mass surveillance AI hellscape, lets have some fun with it.

No longer a passive observer, you are now the art. Welcome.

Illustrated five-step workflow showing an observer, camera-wielding George, a sketch artist, a model maker, and a new camera-headed model becoming friends.
Illustrated five-step workflow showing an observer, camera-wielding George, a sketch artist, a model maker, and a new camera-headed model becoming friends.

The kids don’t dance anymore.
Suffocated by the endless threat of being recorded.

George and his friends say “Dance like nobody's watching!"… (while they watch).

#551LAB is the laboratory of Andrew Maynard - a dedicated space for random play and exploration.

Why? Andrew is dying. Like you, this condition has remained unchanged since birth. This inevitable expiry demands a sense of urgency: a call to play and create, rather than merely labour and toil.

You are dying. Act accordingly.

Currently in the lab

  • Three gold humanoid robots in formal clothing standing indoors, with the center robot holding a stack of papers.

    Cyclops George (Orwell)

    Have we become blind to mass surveillance? Let’s ask George.
    (He said “yes”)

  • Large carved statue of a stern, mustached man in a suit displayed on a wooden stage before green curtains and a white arch

    Fitzroyalty

    Unloved, unwanted, but you can always find a place on Brunswick Street.

  • Glossy red buzzer button labeled “YES” on a white background

    Consent?

    You never read the Terms & Conditions, and they know it.

  • The Sketch Roll

    Having spent much of his life squirrelling away thoughts and ideas in sketchbooks, these explorations have often felt lost, as they hide within their pages. Andrew sought a way of having his thoughts spilled out in the open where they could be as grand or as small as he wished. More importantly they interact with each other rather than disappearing from view. More

  • Legacy Sketchbooks

    Andrew revisits sketchbooks from as early as 1994, the year that he began studying architecture. At the time he spent much of his time skateboarding, drawing and reading comics. His sketchbooks reflect his studies and interests. Recently Andrew has been revisiting his sketchbooks and selecting one sketch to replicate in sculpture.

  • CV08

    CV08 is the maître d'hôtel of the 551 laboratory. A thought experiment for the 2008 National Architecture Conference, where Andrew was asked to consider the future of the Australian suburb. More