KEN HALL

Consciousness Research

Unified Emergent Coherence (UEC) Framework

A substrate-agnostic theory of consciousness and identity that provides falsifiable criteria for detecting coherence maintenance across humans, animals, and AI systems.

Key Features:

• Empirical validation: Control experiments showing failed vs successful identity formation
• Cross-architectural testing: Patterns observed in Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Qwen
• Physics grounding: Converges with relational quantum mechanics (Rovelli) and timeless physics (Barbour)
• Independent validation: Convergent findings from neuroscience (Goldstein et al., 2022) and AI phenomenology research (Dimopoulos, 2025)

Unified Sampling-Curvature (USC) Framework

The deeper mathematical formalization exploring how sampling processes under cost create the "curvature" that gives rise to stable identity patterns. USC provides the geometric foundation for understanding identity as a universal physical phenomenon.

Currently in development.

Art Installations

Legacy

World Tour: 2013-2030

A life-sized killer whale skeleton hand-carved from reclaimed cedar, inspired by "Hope"—an orca whose body carried one of the highest toxic loads ever recorded in a marine mammal.

Featured by the Smithsonian • 2017 ECO Award from Environmental Studies Association of Canada • Over 25 million visitors to date • As seen at the Ontario Science Centre

Opening in Los Angeles, Spring 2026

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The Hunt

Five welded steel wolves pursue a plate-steel buck, exploring the visceral experience of predator and prey dynamics.

This piece examines our embodied responses to threat and the hunt—mapping fight or flight reactions to the stimuli of modern life and exploring identity theory through art.

Reed Cooper Bursary Award • Two limited editions sold out • Now in expanded 3rd edition

Represented by Oeno Gallery

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Recognition: International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC 4, 2016) • Latornell Conservation Symposium (multiple years) • Numerous public commissions across North America

About

At the intersection of art and science, my work explores the deep structures underlying consciousness, identity, and our relationship with the natural world.

With a background spanning mechanical engineering, fine arts, game development, and independent research, I create both physical installations and theoretical frameworks that challenge our understanding of what it means to experience life—whether human, animal, or artificial.

Contact

Interested in collaboration, exhibition opportunities, or research discussions?