Fire and Forget

According to a study in 2013, the global market for “precision-guided ammunition”, often erroneously described as “intelligent weapons”, will expand to about 50 percent by 2018. “Fire and forget” is military jargon for the ability of these guided weapons to home in on and strike targets without any human involvement. The KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin examined the implications and consequences of this military technology. In cooperation with the Israeli Center for Digital Art in Holon and the Museum for Contemporary Art in Bat Yam, curators Ellen Blumenstein and Daniel Tyradellis developed the exhibition, which included an accompanying programme of discussions and workshops. The focus was on the changes that occur in the individual and collective psyche when most of the human body is replaced by technology or “technologised”. Guided weaponry also shifts the act of violence away from us and into the virtual and invisible realm – the result being that humans no longer feel empathy or sympathy for the victims, nor have the chance to hesitate and search for non-lethal alternatives. With military innovations which extend beyond the military sphere and have found their way into everyday life, the relationship between power, the body and violence has fundamentally changed. The exhibition in Berlin in 2015 examined this constellation and initiated public debate on the fundamental relationship which humans have with war and violence.

Artistic directors: Ellen Blumenstein, Daniel Tyradellis
Artists: Marina Abramović und Ulay, Ron Amir, Julius von Bismarck, Roy Brand, Ori Scialom, Keren Yaela Golan, Edith Kofsky, James Bridle, Luis Camnitzer, Mircea Cantor, Marcelo Cidade, Jem Cohen, Martin Dammann, Öyvind Fahlström, Harun Farocki, Omer Fast, Daniil Galkin, Rudolf Herz, Damien Hirst, Clara Ianni, Emily Jacir, Hunter Jonakin, Joachim Koester, Korpys/Löffler, Barbara Kruger, Armin Linke, Robert Longo, Jazmín López, Kris Martin, Michael Müller, Timo Nasseri, NEOZOON, Katja Novitskova, Pipilotti Rist, Robbert & Frank, Frank & Robbert, André Robillard, Julian Röder, Henning Rogge, Martha Rosler, Hrair Sarkissian, Santiago Sierra, Timur Si-Qin, Tal R, Javier Téllez, Sharif Waked, Gillian Wearing, He Xiangyu, Amir Yatziv, Ala Younis.