Shows

Victor Miklos Andersen, Salomé Chatriot, Dougal Dixon, Entangled Others, Joey Holder, Kaja Lahoda

Speculative Evolution

21.09.2024–30.12.2024

VERNISSAGE :

20.09.2024,17:00–19:00

1 / 2

© Joey Holder

2 / 2

Poster: Alexis Mark

Gruppeudstillingen Speculative Evolution præsenterer seks kunstnere, hvis værker er repræsentative for en global tendens inden for samtidens kunst og kultur. Værkerne viser stigende interesse for udviklingen af livet på jorden i alle afskygninger – fra planter og dyr over mennesker til kunstige livsformer. Tendensen ses i lyset af den hastige udvikling af jordens klima og biodiversitet samt videnskab og teknologi, der tvinger os til at genoverveje, hvor vi kommer fra og er på vej hen.

Tanker om, at det mangfoldige liv på jorden har udviklet sig over tid, spores tilbage til det antikke Grækenland. Men først med On the Origin of Species fra 1859 begyndte den kristne forestilling om de gudgivne arters uforanderlighed at vakle. Som den første præsenterede Charles Darwin en evolutionsteori, der endte med at skabe konsensus blandt fagmænd og hinsides. Hypoteser og bevisførelse forankrede spekulationer i ny empirisk videnskab. Teorien viste sig både at være så overbevisende og mangelfuld, at den nye videnskab paradosalt inspirerede nye og endnu vildere spekulationer. Og Darwins teoris forklaringskraft fandt hurtig anvendelse inden for andre vidensområder.

Allerede i 1863 publicerede en af Darwins disciple, Samuel Butler, overvejelser om maskinernes evolution. I fremtiden så han ”det maskinelle rige” underlægge sig menneskene. Hans vilde ideer er i dag virkelige bekymringer. I den aktuelle debat om kunstig intelligens hører man teknologiudviklere og forskere foreslå udviklingen sat på pause og forslag om indføring af obligatorisk ”kill switch” eller stopknap.

I starten af det 20. århundrede inspirerede både Darwin og hans satiriske discipel Butler flere science fiction forfattere. H.G. Wells skrev om hybrider af mennesker og dyr, Aldous Huxley fremstillede et ”fagert voksent” verdenssamfund af genetisk modificerede mennesker og Olaf Stapledon projicerede menneskeheden 2 milliarder år ind i fremtiden.

Imens science fiction blev stadig mere anerkendt som seriøs litterur og kultur, begyndte eksempler på stadig mere litterær og kunstnerisk videnskab at se dagens lys. I 1980’erne udgav geolog og palæontolog Dougal Dixon en international bestsellertrilogi om hele økosystemer i alternative evolutionære fortider og zoologiske, posthumane fremtider. Fra og med udgivelsen af After Man fra 1981 etableredes Dixon som ophavsmand til en ny bølge af spekulativ evolution i gråzonen mellem kunst og videnskab. Dixons alternative evolutionære fortællinger beroede ikke blot på det skrevne ord, men også videnskabelige illustrationer og animation. I dag er Dixon også en forløber blandt samtidskunstnere, hvoraf denne udstilling præsenterer fem.

Dougal Dixon holder åbningstalen.

Udstillingen er støttet af Ny Carlsbergfondet.

The group exhibition Speculative Evolution presents 6 artists whose works are representative of a global trend in contemporary art and culture. The works show increasing interest in the development of life on earth in all its guises – from plants and animals to humans and artificial life forms. The trend is seen in the light of the rapid developments in the earth's climate and biodiversity as well as science and technology, which forces us to reconsider where we come from and where we are going.
Ideas that the diverse life on earth has evolved over time can be traced back to ancient Greece. But it was not until On the Origin of Species from 1859 that the Christian notion of the immutability of God-given species began to waver. Charles Darwin was the first to present a theory of evolution that ended up creating consensus among professionals and beyond. Hypotheses and evidence anchored speculation in new empirical science. The theory proved to be both so convincing and incomplete that the new science paradoxically inspired new and even wilder speculations. And the explanatory power of Darwin's theory quickly found application in other fields of knowledge.
As early as 1863, one of Darwin's disciples, Samuel Butler, published his reflections on the evolution of machines. In the future, he saw the “machine kingdom” subjugating humans. Today, his wild ideas are real concerns. In current debates surrounding AI, prominent technologists and scientists call for a pause in the development of machine intelligence or demand it incorporates a “kill switch”.
At the beginning of the 20th century, both Darwin and his satirical disciple Butler inspired several science fiction writers. H. G. Wells wrote about hybrids of humans and animals, Aldous Huxley imagined a brave new world of genetically engineered humans and Olaf Stapledon projected humanity 2 billion years into the future. While science fiction was increasingly recognized as serious literature and culture, examples of increasingly literary and artistic science began to see the light of day.
In the 1980s, geologist and paleontologist Dougal Dixon published an international bestselling trilogy about entire ecosystems in alternative evolutionary pasts and zoological, posthuman futures, starting with After Man in 1981. The books established Dixon as the founding father of speculative evolution in the gray area between art and science. Dixon's alternative evolutionary narratives relied not only on the written word, but also scientific illustrations and animation. Today, Dixon is no longer simply mass culture. He can also be seen as a frontrunner among contemporary artists of whom Tranen presents five in this upcoming group show.
Dougal Dixon will give the opening speech.
Supported by Ny Carlsbergfondet