The New Golem by Lior Locher (Colossive Cartographies 47)

The medieval legend of the Golem: created from river mud, enlivened by the right combination of letters, created to help and protect the community. And then it went wrong. The moral: we can’t always grasp the consequences of our own creations. I see some of the same questions arising around generative AI, created from the sludge we produced collectively online, enlivened by zeroes and ones. This piece is deliberately very analogue, a linocut with handwriting, mud-coloured like a city river.

For more information on the history behind this work, visit Lior’s site.

Lior Locher is a mixed-media artist, writer and thinkerer based in Brighton.

A4, full colour, folded to A6. Also available as part of a six-issue subscription (Series Eight).

Colossive Cartographies is an attempt to create a print equivalent of a series of seven-inch singles. Using a simple pop-out format based on the Turkish map fold, we’re collaborating with creators including cartoonists, fine artists, poets, writers and photographers to bring an unpredictable range of visual practice into a hand-folded treat.