Exhibition questions the shape of the future

A new exhibition at RMIT Gallery, 2112 Imagining the Future, opening on 2 December, throws the debate over to artists to share their visions.

RMIT Gallery Director Suzanne Davies said that a shared sense of uncertainty about the future was one of the major themes explored in the new exhibition.

2112 Imagining the Future (2 December - 28 January) taps into the general anxieties and public concern about the consequences of climate change, and brings together prominent international artists Justine Cooper, Keith Cottingham, Thomas Doyle, Kirsten Johannsen, Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre, Mariko Mori, Hisaharu Motoda, Lyndal Osborne, Roman Signer, Superflex, Kenji Yanobe and Ken + Julia Yonetani.

Australian artists Philip Brophy, Lesley Duxbury, Kellyann Geurts, Stephen Haley, Sam Leach, Tony Lloyd, Patricia Piccinini, Philip Samartzis, Debbie Symons, Stephanie Valentin and Darren Wardle also speculate on the question of the ecological "tipping point".

The exhibition will also feature NOW and WHEN Australian Urbanism, courtesy of the Australian Institute of Architects, which featured in the Australian Pavilion at the 12th International Architecture Exhibition, la Biennale di Venezia 2010.

Using a range of digital stereoscopic images and animation, the installation highlights three of Australia's most interesting urban regions as they are now, before dramatically representing futuristic urban environments as they may look in the year 2050.

According to exhibition Curator Dr Linda Williams, one of the major themes explored in the exhibition arises from the question of why imagining the future through science fiction thrives in literature and film, yet appears to be a genre that is fairly marginal to the field of contemporary art.

Dr Williams is Associate Professor in Art, Environment and Cultural Studies at RMIT, where she leads the Art and Environmental Sustainability research group.

"Art that conveys effective ideas about the future like the best science fiction is really an art about the conditions of the present and their unforeseen consequences," Dr Williams said.

"While researching this exhibition I found that most artists had a fairly dystopian perspective of the future. In fact it was difficult to find utopian artists. I don't think it is about a pessimistic attitude, but rather that their dystopian imagery forms a critique of the conditions of the present."

Artists Kenji Yanobe (Japan) and Lyndal Osborne (Canada) will be at RMIT Gallery from 28 November-3 December to install their works and for free public programs.

NOW and WHEN Creative Directors are John Gollings and Ivan Rijavec.

Free Public Program Events

(Bookings essential: 03 9925 1717)

What: Zones of the Future: Dystopia or Utopia? - Screening of the Russian science fiction masterpiece Stalker (1979), directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, with panel discussion featuring curator Linda Williams, Philip Brophy, Kenji Yanobe and Professor Paul James, Director, RMIT Global Cities Research Institute Director and United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme
When: Thursday, 30 November, 5.45pm - 8.30pm
Where: RMIT Kaleide Theatre, 360 Swanston Street, Melbourne

What: From Organic to Atomic - Curator Linda Williams in conversation with Lyndal Osborne (Canada) and Kenji Yanobe (Japan)
When: Friday, 2 December, 12pm - 1pm
Where: RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne

What: Painting the Future - Discussion with Sam Leach and Tony Lloyd
When: Tuesday, 6 December, 12pm - 1pm
Where: RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne

What: NOW and WHEN Australian Urbanism - 3D stereoscopic technology - 2010 Australian Pavilion Co-Creative Director Ivan Rijavec.
When: Tuesday, 13 December, 6pm - 7pm (exhibition open until 7.30pm)
Where: RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne

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