LXRY List 2023, the annual wow magazine with innovative items and surprising addresses, a list that inspires and points to the future. New times are dawning because of technological possibilities. So is the art world. Some examples in a row of art marked by the spirit of the times.
What would the Sagrada Familia look like if the structure were completed? Or the Colosseum in its complete state? Studio Drift has visualized that using illuminated drones. To that end, it has spent the past two years developing cutting-edge software that allows it to create sculptures, installations and performances in the air. The idea came about when Notre Dame was destroyed by flames. "We thought about rebuilding the cathedral with light," said Ralph Nauta (b. 1978, UK), co-founder of Studio Drift. "The effort and craftsmanship in which such buildings used to be built teaches us to rediscover the patience involved as a society. Studio Drift's drone technology could also be applied in architecture and urban planning to visualize the impact of new buildings. Text: Bart-Jan Brouwer
The Biennale de Reneva near Bonifacio took place in Corsica for the first time in 2022. It produced fine art in centuries-old buildings and forts and in beautiful outdoor locations. The artworks were spread across six different sites with a total of 13 participating artists. The trail led along the steep rocky coast of the Bonifacio peninsula and began at the famous Genoese citadel on a high cliff on the coast. There stood the work Decension by internationally renowned artist Anish Kapoor (b. IN, 1954): you could see a dark vortex of water spinning endlessly down a well. From the beginning of his career, Kapoor's work focuses on a symbiosis between nature, intellect and technology. He is additionally mesmerized by emptiness, such as a hole in the ground or in a sculpture that provides a beautiful vanishing point and raises questions. En passant, his work questions the very definition of sculpture. Originally from India, Kapoor has lived and worked in London for many years. His work can be found in important museums around the world, such as the MOMA in New York, the Tate Modern in London, the Gugenheim Museum in Venice, not to mention Museum Depont in Tilburg.
Derenava-art.com | Anishkapoor.com
Plastik: Die Welt neu denken, is the title of an exhibition that opened in late March 2022 at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein and then traveled on to the V&A Museum in Dundee. The exhibition was devoted entirely to the industrial application of plastics and other plastics from the 1930s onward. Garden chairs, Barbie dolls, telephones, waterproof rainwear and especially PET bottles: really anything could be made from plastic. That optimistic sense of life has since disappeared, though. In our oceans and rivers float hundreds of millions of pounds of plastic, leaving tiny micro-particles in our food and drinking water. The exhibition therefore also focused on recycling and alternative uses for plastic. For example, it featured a video of the famous Ocean Cleanup Project by Dutch engineer and activist Boyan Slat, whose goal is to remove 90 percent of all plastic from the oceans. The FlipFlopi Project was also extensively featured. A fantastic initiative that originated in Kenya in 2015 from an idea by initiator Ben Morison. He had a traditional sailing boat (dhow) reconstructed from recycled plastic flip flops: thus, those flip flops became the main raw material for the boat. A permanent crew has been sailing it across the oceans ever since, docking in different countries to generate environmental awareness.
The installation In pursuit of Bling by Otobong Nkanga (b. NG, 1974) was on display during last year's exhibition Tenminste Houdbaar Tot, at Museum Arnhem. An exhibition about whether art can influence the way people interact with the earth. The 'bling' in the title of the work refers in a negative way to products such as jewelry, expensive cars, cell phones and luxury accessories. In short: the appeal of glitz and glamour that these types of products have on the discerning consumer. Does he or she realize that all these luxury products require a lot of raw materials, which are often located on African soil? Their extraction involves a lot of chemicals and pollution, and is extremely harmful to the environment and the earth. The workers are also often underpaid. With woven tapestries, video images and minerals, Otobong Nkanga shows how damaging the hunt for raw materials for luxury goods is. Her installation forces us to face the facts: what price do we all pay for this wealth, which benefits only a select few?
During Paradys, an impressive outdoor exhibition that took place in the summer of 2022 in the Frisian parkland of Oranjewoud, fifteen renowned international artists examined familiar stories that are guiding us. The creators also looked at whether those stories could be transformed into new narratives. Jakob Kudsk Steensen (b. DK, 1987) was one of the participants. In his immersive virtual reality works, Steensen recreates landscapes and natural areas that are difficult to reach, have disappeared or are under attack. With powerful and seductive installations, he creates a hybrid art form between technology and nature. Steensen allows the viewer to experience what it feels like to walk around in lost paradise. For Re-Animated, his installation for Paradys which revolves around an extinct bird, you could use virtual reality glasses to see the extinct bird (the Kaua'i 'o'o) flying again. A bird that lived in the dense swamp forest of the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i and became extinct around 1987. The Kaua'i 'o'o still captures the imagination through its moving mating song, which was captured on tape by a biologist in 1987 and then posted on YouTube in 2009. The solitary bird's call slowly dies away, as if it has given up hope of mating - and thus surviving. In Re-Animated, Steensen gives the bird new life.
Curious about more? The new LXRY List 2023 is out now! The annual wow magazine with innovative items and surprising addresses, a list that inspires and points to the future. Technological possibilities mean new times are dawning...
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