The World Without Us

The question at the centre of this exhibition was what a world without humans might look like. In this case, however, the exhibition did not present futuristic scenarios of a post-apocalyptic world, but rather suggested that a post-human age had already begun, unnoticed by most. The instruments of a “world without us” are already in place: the first driverless cars are navigating the streets, algorithms produce newspaper articles, and machines translate texts. Even today, human-technological hybrid constellations are not only the subject of numerous Hollywood films, but also contemporary media art. The international artists invited by the Hartware MedienKunstVerein examined a post-human ecology, a post-Anthropocene age when non-human agents had assumed control of the world. These alternative “life” forms – genetically engineered microorganisms or monstrous-looking plants, algorithms and artificially intelligent beings – can more easily adapt to changing circumstances and are thus superior to humans. The exhibition was designed in such a way that visitors felt that they were walking through a greenhouse, filled with clusters of strange-looking plants. The artistic works have been accompanied by cultural-historical and pop-cultural artefacts and films on post-humanism. Following its initial presentation at the Dortmunder U, the exhibition went to Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Rijeka (Croatia).

Artistic director: Inke Arns
Artists: Morehshin Allahyari (IR), LaTurbo Avedon (US), Will Benedict (US/FR), David Claerbout (BE), Harun Farocki (DE), Wanuri Kahiu (KE), Ignas Krunglevicius (LT), Mark Leckey (GB), Eva & Franco Mattes (IT/USA), Julien Prévieux (FR), Daniel Rourke (GB), Suzanne Treister (GB) and others

Additional Venues:

Aksioma, Ljubljana: Summer 2017