photo 1. start of installation and happening.
photo 2. end of installation and happening.
when will you want the new human language
new cave painting no. 8
2026
384 pieces of paper in 16 colors.
each an original text phrase, question, or proposed language glyph.
proposing a new human language, given AI, in a vocabulary of the universal experiences all humans feel and share.
four-day site-specific installation.
The Other Art Fair — Los Angeles
Sept 24-27, 2026.
24 x 10 ft. oil stick, paper, ink.
1 about the installation
One of the artist's conceptual new cave paintings that experiment with ways to preserve we the human in this new time of AI.
It proposes a new human language—just for we the human—in this new time of empty intelligence.
It wonders if a truly human vocabulary could be derived from our universal experiences that all humans feel and share.
It tells a human story—both a love story and possibly also a tragedy—and proposes both defiance and hope:
When Will You Want The New Human Language
2 about the performance
The installation includes a four-day performance art experiment.
It may have dialogues: viewers and the artist may ask, do humans now want a language, just for us? if so, how do we protect it from AI?
It may have evidence: even if we want a language just for us, it may be that we are, by our nature, incapable of keeping it for ourselves.
The four days may constitute a happening.
3 click for the related piece showing in London
when will you want the new human right
4 about the artist
Adam Daley Wilson is a conceptual artist, art theorist, appellate lawyer, and public interest lawyer.
Represented by Engage Projects Gallery in Chicago.
The gallery represents 20 diverse conceptual artists from several countries around the world.
Two of his three solo shows to date were selected “Must See” in Chicago by Artforum Magazine.
He works in oil painting, language, installation, video, performance, art theory, constitutional theory, and law.
5 further context
When Will You Want the New Human Language is part of an evolving body of work by the artist, comprising experimental “new cave paintings,” “inscription paintings,” and writing systems.
The artist’s broader experiment within this body of work asks whether human language-making must remain linear—and thus susceptible to artificial intelligence—or whether human-only meanings can be created, shared, and preserved other ways.
The artist is currently experimenting with “spatial writing systems” that might be able to do this through different combinations of layering, legibility, illegibility, abstraction, and body-felt emotion.
click here for more on art practice, process, bio, and cv
6 critics on the evolving body of work
first solo exhibition: critic Michel Ségard wrote in New Art Examiner: “it is rare that one encounters [work] with such depth”; “complexity and gravitas”; “profound and ambiguous.” The New Art Examiner is an independent Chicago-based international art criticism magazine.
first two solo exhibitions: each selected by Artforum as a “Must See” exhibition in Chicago.
second solo exhibition: selected by Mousse as one of “the best contemporary art exhibitions and events” in Chicago aligned with the 2023 international art fair EXPO Chicago (Mousse Magazine and Publishing). Based in Milan Italy, Mousse is an independent international contemporary art and culture magazine that features critical essays and interviews by international critics, artists, and curators.
third solo exhibition: reviewed in Newcity Art / the artist’s verdict. Newcity Art is an independent art and culture magazine in Chicago that is a leading voice in Chicago’s cultural scene.
7 contact
ENGAGE Projects Gallery in Chicago
Jennifer Armetta, director / owner