Curational Rationale
My exhibition is based around my visualisation of what a futuristic world could look like. This world includes contemporary issues: environmental depletion and pollution, class divide, control and corruption. The world features three different places/levels which reflect three different social classes.
Inspiration for creating this exhibition lies in my passion for science-fiction. I have always been fascinated by the way science fiction takes a contemporary subject or issue and creates an extreme version of it. This can act as a warning by prompting the audience to consider how the world could end up if we are not careful. My exhibition also takes inspiration from my interest in war history, particularly after visiting battlefields and museums in France. I have analysed ideas of control and disaster and incorporated symbols from WW1 into my artwork to portray how society could end up back in a state of disaster.
The artist who inspired me the most is film director and architect, Liam Young. After seeing his exhibition, a video portraying a futuristic manufactured world, I was inspired by how he created his own vision of the future. His Metropolis inspired the centrepiece of my exhibition and is what influenced me to envision my futuristic world. Particularly his use of 3D animation using lighting and constructed scenery to tell a story. I was also inspired by his creation of costumes to characterise the inhabitants with unique futuristic jobs, which particularly inspired Cybernetic Symbiosis.
My exhibition includes digital media, drawing and sculpture. I chose digitally created imagery as my primary artform as I felt it best created a futuristic aesthetic being contemporary and innovative. Using 3D animation software allowed me to create highly detailed environments making them appear realistic, immersing the viewer in this possible reality. I used photography and digital drawing also as part of my digital portfolio of artworks. I also made manual drawing one of my artforms; particularly for the bottom level which has been abandoned and restrained from modern technology. Cybernetic Symbiosis mirrors traditional product design plans for functional work uniforms reinforcing a ‘recreation of humanity’. My exhibition also features two sculptures that feature in Tritopia. This is to appear as if part of the world has jumped from its frame, making the viewer feel a part of this reality.
The exhibition is divided into four parts. There are two artworks for each of the three social classes - one depicts the inhabitants while the other embodies a key characteristic of that level. These six works are arranged in a diagonal arrangement mirroring the hierarchy and ascending nature of these classes. They are placed around the centrepiece of my exhibition Tritopia which represents the environment of the three-tiered world as a whole. This is accompanied by The Watcher, which stares directly at the viewer immersing them into the world as if they are also being controlled under constant surveillance.
The lowest social class is characterised by its dystopian and post-apocalyptic appearance. The monochromatic and gloomy colour scheme reinforces the dark and depressing state of this level. Both the inhabitants and the land are abandoned and ignored leaving its dwellers in toxic pollution and in slums slowly being engulfed by rising sea levels.
The second level represents the working class, a level controlled and manipulated by the highest class to do their work for them. Production and efficiency are so enforced that its inhabitants forcefully devote their lives to it. Being driven by technology and advancements this level embodies a cyberpunk aesthetic with its bright colours, neon lighting and efficient transportation.
The highest level represents a utopian landscape, juxtaposing its corrupt inhabitants. The level is characterised by its minimal and polymeric shapes and its bright natural elements, symbolic of prestige. The clean white surfaces reinforce the atmosphere separated from the pollution.
From the titles of the artworks to the choice of medium, there is an underlying concept of being controlled by the highest class. The artwork titles are from the perspective of the wealthy, and mirrors their unnerving control and power overall. The digital artworks are mostly associated with the upper world inhabitants which shows their overruling influence and control over future technologies.
The Watcher
4.Tritopia (video frame)
4.Tritopia (video frame)
4.Tritopia (video frame)
4.Tritopia (video frame)
2.Progress Powers Progression
1.Scraps (detail)
8.Slums 289XI#985
6.Us (series)
6.Us (series)
3.Exotic Pet
Installation view
7.Cybernetic Symbiosis (series)
7.Cybernetic Symbiosis (series)
7.Cybernetic Symbiosis (series)
artwork statements
1.Scraps
Marker drawings on paper
x8 individual 21.7 x 14 cm drawings, 30 x 67 x 49 cm overall
This collage represents a collection of drawings that appear to be made by the inhabitants of the lower level. The lifeless expressions of the gas masks draw the inhabitants into their gloomy environment. The only record of the figures of this location can be made by themselves due to their abandonment. The rough, sketchy style of the drawings mirror the derelict lifestyle, the variety in perspective and styles reflect these have been created by several different lost individuals.
2.Progress Powers Progression
Digital drawing printed on photo paper
41x 28.4 cm
The propaganda poster takes inspiration from WW1 posters in its aged, lithographic style in a digital form alludes to propaganda continuously controlling populations. The typography and connection to the three occupations enforces middle class ideas of devoting one’s life to work, in the interest of the higher-level inhabitants. The falcon, a bird known for working with humanity appears triumphant while the tassel (associated with blinding caps used on these birds) works menacingly against this.
3.Exotic Pet
Sculpture - polymer clay, acrylic paint in wire cage
26 x 16 x 17.5 cm
This sculpture represents a pet held captive to the inhabitants to the higher level. The empty and small cage shows a lack of care alluding to the way this creature is held as a symbol of prestige reinforced by its emotionless name. The bird also symbolises control by the wealthy constricting the freedom of the lower levels. The sparrow-like bird appears unnatural in its vivid colouring reinforcing the idea of exploitation and advanced genetic mutation.
4.Tritopia
3D Animation Projection
3 minute and 35 second MP4 file1080x1920px, projected: 38.5 x 109cm
The animation depicts the three levelled futuristic world that my exhibition is based on. The video’s omission of humans makes it entirely landscape focused, portraying characteristics of three places entirely through constructed environments, also expressing class division through the contrasting elements between them. The video takes viewers on a journey between the dystopian base level, the technological but highly productive middle level and the highest utopian level floating above the rest.
5.The Watcher
Sculpture
29 x 42 x 17 cm
This sculpture constructed from old mechanical parts, shows our current disregards for scarcity of resources will eventually catch up to us. With such heavy reliance on technology, it will inevitably force scavenging of the old to construct the new. The threatening appearance of the bird with the lens as a face suggests control, that measures have been taken to keep everyone in their place. There is irony in the use of a bird which is associated with freedom, used as an instrument of control.
6.Us
Digital Photography
x6 individual 29.8 x 20.4 photos, 93 x 85.5cm overall
The figures in these photos represent the inhabitants of the highest level/class. It shows natural elements have become a symbol of prestige and status due to their rarity in a world suffering from environmental depletion. This is emphasised by the plants and animal masks which also contribute to an eerie and unsettling feel, reflecting the true corruption of these overly wealthy beings. There is irony in having masks as fashion considering they are necessity for the polluted lower levels.
7.Cybernetic Symbiosis
Drawing Series
x3 individual 38 x 28 cm drawings, 112.5 x 52.5 cm overall
The series represents three occupations from the middle class or the ‘working level’. Drawn in a style inspired by product design plans, it suggests the idea of ‘recreating’ humanity. With each job there is heavy focus on the technology but very little regard for the humanity of the figures. At lengths of ripping off limbs and replacing them with a mechanical part just to maximise productivity, humans of this class are treated as inanimate materials.
8.Slums 289XI#985
Drawing
70 x 50 cm
This artwork in its dollhouse-like presentation allows the viewer to observe the depressing and tight living conditions of the lowest class. The barcode-like typography alludes to the mass number of slums. The scale and continuation of rooms alludes to how the lower living quarters are abandoned as the water levels rise forcing the dwellers to adapt and constantly build above it. Although the rooms are filled with various objects, they still evoke a feeling loneliness and overwhelm.