IT’S really kind of sensational when you see six gamers sit at the entrance of an exhibition gallery, wearing professional headphones and playing League of Legends. Their head tilted at odd angles, their eyes fixed on the computer screens and their fingers busy striking the keyboards ... but they follow a strict set of rules that keep them from winning.

The performance, titled “Unwinnable Game,” by Li Liao is one of a number of original works in the exhibition “After Us” at the Shanghai chi K11 Art Museum that ends on May 31.

With the rise of artificial intelligence, social media and gaming, the process of adopting newly invented personae is now a common part of popular culture and daily life. Stand-ins for the self, for feelings and products, and for values and beliefs have expanded our lives and sense of possibility.

“The cultural and artistic adoption of avatars and digital surrogates is the subject of ‘After Us,’ an exhibition that examines new questions of personal and cultural self-definition arising from the ability, facilitated by recent technologies, to take on, role-play, and discard myriad personae,” says Lauren Cornell, curator and associate director of Technology Initiatives at the New Museum in New York City.

Altogether, the works in “After Us” show artists are not just considering the future, but also actively rewriting the definition of what it means to be human today.

The exhibition featuring international artists with a special focus on emerging artists from China is the first major show co-presented by the K11 Art Foundation and the New Museum.

‘After Us’

Date: Through May 31, 10am-8pm

Venue: Shanghai chi K11 Art Museum

Address: B3, Shanghai K11 Art Mall, 300 Huaihai Rd M.