Utopia. The Right to Hope – Texts

Utopia. The Right to Hope
27.09.2025 – 11.01.2026

“You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” wrote John Lennon and Yoko Ono in the opening lines of “Imagine,” one of the world’s most famous songs. Though the song is more than half a century old, its vision of various utopian ideals remains relevant today: a world without war, hunger, greed, and hatred—a peaceful, sustainable, and livable world for all people, in which they share with each other, care for one another, and treat each other with respect.

Histo­ri­cally, the emergence of utopias has usually been closely linked to dissa­tis­fac­tion with a present that is perceived as negative. Even today, many people find the current times stressful, if not dystopian. In addition to wars, genocides, global refugee movements, the rise of populism and right-wing radica­lism in many countries, and a spreading loss of trust in democra­cies, it is above all the human-made climate catastrophe that dominates the thoughts and actions of many. This raises numerous pressing questions: How do we want to coexist and survive together in the future? In what condition will we leave the Earth to future genera­tions? How can we use existing knowledge to make the world a place of solida­rity and ecolo­gical responsibility?

The exhibi­tion Utopia. The Right to Hope sends a message of hope, empha­si­zing the right to a livable future for all humans and non-human beings. Through artistic ideas, sugges­tions, and visions, the exhibi­tion opens new spaces for thinking about our own perspec­tives, alter­na­tive paths and options for action, and the possi­bi­li­ties for a different, more just and sustainable world to which we can all contri­bute at any time.

When we demand the right to hope with this exhibi­tion, we do not mean naïvely waiting for miracles. Hope does not mean suppres­sing or even denying realities and their complex challenges but rather confron­ting them and facing them with courage. Utopias paint a picture of a better world and offer concrete perspec­tives for change. With Utopia, we are taking a step in this direction. Let us dare to create more utopias together that spark hope and confi­dence in a better tomorrow!

The exhibi­tion, which spans the hall and gallery and features some sixty inter­na­tional artistic positions, is divided into seven thematic clusters, which are identi­fied by large, color­fully designed text panels. Each indivi­dual work in the exhibi­tion is accom­pa­nied by a short text providing infor­ma­tion about its content. The color codes on the signage clearly indicate which thematic cluster each work belongs to. Further infor­ma­tion and in-depth texts can be found in the accom­panying publi­ca­tion to the exhibi­tion, which is available in our shop.

Curators
Andreas Beitin (idea and concept), Sebastian Mühl, Dino Steinhof

Curato­rial Assistant
Veronika Mehlhart

Scien­tific Advisory Board
Inke Arns, Ann-Katrin Günzel, Jörg Heiser, Wolfgang Kaleck, Ina-Maria Maahs, Manuel Rivera, Ludger Schwarte, Kerstin Wolff

Anetta Mona Chişa und Lucia Tkáčová

Try Again. Fail Again. Fail Better., 2011
1‑channel video, color, sound
7:57 min.

Courtesy the artists

In this video, a group of people release a giant, infla­t­able fist— a common symbol of protest movements—into the air as if it were a balloon. However, the fist gradually deflates and collapses. While this could be inter­preted as an allegory of a waning protest, the limp fist can also be unders­tood as a possi­bi­lity of libera­tion from illusory or disap­pointed beliefs and their symbolism, thereby creating space for new ideas, hopes, and utopias.

Chto Delat

Untitled (Tatlin Tower), 2013
Mixed media

mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, on loan from the collec­tion Ludwig, Aachen, Peter und Irene Ludwig Stiftung, 2021

The small Tatlin Tower by the Russian art collec­tive Chto Delat is a tribute to Vladimir Tatlin‘s unrea­lized, 400-meter-tall Monument to the Third Inter­na­tional (1919–20), which was consi­dered an exemplary testament to the utopian aspira­tions of the artistic avant-garde in the early twentieth century. Nearly a century later, after the collapse of the socialist dream, Chto Delat‘s “small tower” reminds us not to lose hope in a better world.

Thomas Demand

Control Room, 2011
C‑print, Diasec
Ed. AP

Courtesy the artist and Matthew Marks Gallery / Sprüth Magers / Esther Schipper, Berlin / Taka Ishii Gallery

Thomas Demand builds detailed, three-dimen­sional models of objects or places out of paper and cardboard. He then photo­graphs the models and destroys the originals. Control Room depicts the destroyed control center of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Although, in contrast to the Chernobyl disaster, an earth­quake caused the destruc­tion here, the photo­graph is still a powerful metaphor for the failed utopian promise of unlimited energy produc­tion through nuclear fission.

Philipp Fürhofer

Phantom­insel, 2025
Acrylic on PVC, mirrors, truss system

Courtesy the artist

The instal­la­tion, created as a commis­sioned work for the Utopia exhibi­tion, features painted palm trees and other enticing elements. Visitors are invited to enter the artifi­cial island through the slats, only to be confronted with their own reflec­tion. Phantom Island serves as a metaphor for one of the exhibition’s central messages: instead of searching for the osten­sibly auspi­cious island of Utopia, we should strive to make positive changes ourselves in the spirit of micro-utopias.

Stephan Huber und Raimund Kummer

Firmament II, 1991
60 cast-iron stars

Private collec­tions, courtesy the artists

The “star field” consists of around forty heavy, five-pointed stars made of cast iron. Many of the stars’ points have broken off. Therefore, the loss is twofold: first, contrary to the title, the stars no longer shine high in the sky; second, they are all damaged. If one inter­prets the five-pointed stars as a symbol contained in the flags of many former or existing socialist states, then the piece can be read as a commen­tary on the failed utopias of the twentieth century.

Sven Johne

Heilpflanzen im Todes­streifen, 2021
25 inkjet prints on Fine Art paper, framed
Ed. 3/3

Courtesy the artist, Klemm’s, Berlin, and Galerie Nagel Draxler, Cologne

Sven Johne’s twenty-five-part photo­gra­phic series explores a prominent yet largely unknown place in the history of divided Germany: the former death strip. Together with his children, Johne walked the entire 1,400-kilometer length of the former inner-German border in search of his own family memories. Given the abundance of medicinal plants that still thrive in the once restricted area, the series serves as a medita­tion on history, separa­tion, healing, and reconciliation.

Mischa Kuball

DYS(U)TOPIA, 2021
Video instal­la­tion, color, sound, mesh textile
2:55 min.

Courtesy Studio Mischa Kuball

At night, the bright lettering “DYS(U)TOPIA” appears on a truck as it drives through various cities. As the “U” is switched on and off, it oscil­lates between a positive and negative prognosis for the future. With this mobile instal­la­tion, Kuball refers to the permanent danger of utopias failing and asks how we want to shape the future coexis­tence of society against the backdrop of current political challenges.

Cluster 2

Democracy and Global Justice

Histo­ri­cally, utopias have often provided answers to the question of just rule and how a good state should be unders­tood. The works brought together in this cluster show that such questions have lost none of their relevance, especially with regard to democracy. For even if democracy is no longer a matter of course for some and must be fought for by many people around the world, it remains the most just form of government in which the utopia of nonvio­lent commu­ni­ca­tion can be pursued. Artists such as Marina Naprush­kina and Jasmina Cibic ask about the ideal president and the optimal gift for a divided nation, respec­tively. The group Société Réaliste envisions a utopia of global trans­na­tio­na­lity that trans­cends nation states. The works of IRWIN, AES+F, Chto Delat Inter­na­tional, and Mischa Leinkauf directly or indirectly point to factual borders that exist between states, sometimes as insur­moun­table hurdles, by addres­sing aspects of legal affilia­tion, the status of refugees, and the disso­lu­tion of borders as a possible utopia.

Kader Attia

To Resist is to Remain Invisible, 2011
Color, matte and glossy

Courtesy the artist

Resis­tance is the theme of this site-specific work. Here, Kader Attia points to everyday, albeit often invisible, forms of rebellion against prevai­ling power systems, such as the attempt to evade or even negate them. The title is written in black paint, almost invisibly, on a black wall, in different languages depending on the context. Avoiding visibi­lity, as well as turning anonymity into an offensive position in the sense of mimicry, can be the basis of a politics of change.

Chto Delat Inter­na­tional

Fell Down – Get Up, A magical play after Werner Tübke, 2025
Multi­media instal­la­tion

Songs of Hope and Despair. Performed by Bundschuh, Fish, Fox Tail, Rainbow, Dead Drummer, Muse-Leaving Germany and by other agencies, 2025
With the engaged parti­ci­pa­ti­onof friends, starring Manuel Muerteas Magician and the choir Wilder­Chor­Yander 1‑channel video, color, sound
80 min.

What If an Apoca­lypse Is Now the New Normal?, 2025
A mini-lecture by Oxana Timofeeva on apoca­lypses
1‑channel video, color, sound
8:30 min.

17 Episodes: A Brief Guide to the Film “Songs of Hope and Despair”
A Series of Sketch-Collages and a Board Game Table
Realized by Dmitry Vilensky and Nikolay Oleynikov
24 collages, table, wood, mixed media

Courtesy the artists This musical fairy tale explores themes such as hope and despair, revolu­tion and failure, and the question of whether miracles can save us from today’s seemingly hopeless situation. The video centers on the magician Manuel Muerte. During his perfor­mance in the market square of Hettstedt, Germany, he trans­forms a group of Russian migrants into figures from Werner Tübke’s monumental Peasants’ War panorama Early Bourgeois Revolu­tion in Germany (1976–87) and sends them on a “dangerous” journey.

Jasmina Cibic

The Gift, 2021
1‑channel video (4K), color, sound
20 min.

Courtesy the artist

This three-channel video by Jasmina Cibic explores the question of the perfect gift for a divided nation and the utopia of political recon­ci­lia­tion. The film’s sets feature examples of archi­tec­tural gifts, including Oscar Niemeyer’s French Communist Party Headquar­ters in Paris (a gift from the architect to the PCF), the Palais des Nations in Geneva (with gifts from the inter­na­tional community), the 25 May Museum in Belgrade (a gift to former Yugoslav President Tito by the nation), and the Buzludzha Monument on Hadzhi Dimitar Peak in Bulgaria (given to the Bulgarian Communist Party by the nation).

Jordi Colomer

X‑VILLE, 2015
1‑channel video instal­la­tion, color, sound, bench, screen, 24 cardboard boxes, paint
Dimen­sions variable
23 min.

Courtesy the artist and Michel Rein, Paris / Brussels

In 1974, the architect Yona Friedman formu­lated his thoughts on realiz­able utopias—utopias that emerge from a collec­tive response to a shared dissa­tis­fac­tion. Friedman’s ideas are the basis for Colomer’s video essay, in which he presents an imaginary city X, where it is possible to rethink the way time and life are currently organized. The video essay was produced in close colla­bo­ra­tion with students and with the parti­ci­pa­tion of residents of the city of Annecy, France.

Mischa Leinkauf

Fiktion einer Nicht-Einreise, 2019
1‑channel video (4K), color, sound
17 min.

Courtesy the artist and alexander levy, Berlin

In his video, Mischa Leinkauf addresses the supposed insur­moun­ta­bi­lity of national borders, including those between Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, as well as those in the Mediter­ra­nean between Spain and Morocco. While the respec­tive borders are guarded and secured milita­rily on land based on political agree­ments, a seemingly boundless landscape reveals itself under­water. As a diver, the artist under­mined the “archi­tec­tures of partition,” as Leinkauf puts it, and created a space of freedom far removed from terri­to­rial control.

Muoto archi­tectes und Georgi Stanishev + Clémence La Sagna

Ball Theater – La fête n’est pas finie, 2023
Instal­la­tion, steel, other materials

Courtesy Studio Muoto, Georgi Stanishev, and Clémence La Sagna

The Ball Theater aims to rekindle our longing for utopia. Its hemis­phe­rical shape can be inter­preted as a globe or an oversized disco ball, symbo­li­zing an era of freedom and lighthe­ar­ted­ness. At its center is a vision of alter­na­tive futures. The instal­la­tion invites visitors to reflect and engage in communal activi­ties, so as to move beyond crises to explore new narra­tives through art, archi­tec­ture, and partying.

Marina Naprush­kina

I want a president, 2021
Acrylic on canvas

Courtesy the artist and PSM, Berlin

This instal­la­tion pays tribute to Zoe Leonard’s 1992 poem and to Maria Kales­ni­kava, a Belaru­sian musician and activist who has been a political prisoner of Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus since 2020. Kales­ni­kava was a member of the Coordi­na­tion Council, which was formed to facili­tate a peaceful transfer of power following the rigged 2020 presi­den­tial election. Given the failure of the Belaru­sian democracy movement, Naprushkina’s work serves as a wake-up call for solida­rity and an unresolved demand on the future.

Neue Slowe­ni­sche Kunst (NSK)

NSK State in Time, 1992–ongoing

Neue Slowe­ni­sche Kunst (NSK) *
NSK Passport, 1993
Passport

IRWIN **
NSK Territory Suhl, 1993
Black-and-white photo­graph

IRWIN **
NSK Consulate Umag, 1994
Photo­graph; photo by Franci Virant

New Collec­ti­vism *
NSK Stamps, 1994
Paper, edition

IRWIN (Dušan Mandič) **
The Ribbon – D. M., 2000
Silver leaf on wood relief, oil paint, cotton, paper, plexi­glass

IRWIN (Borut Vogelnik) *
The Flag for the Vehicle / Left, Right,
Up, Down, 2001
Water­color on silk, silkscreen on cotton

IRWIN **
Ministry of Foreign Affairs / NSK
Passports, 2007
Print, framed

IRWIN *
Distri­bu­tion of the NSK State in Time Passport Holders, 2008
Wall appli­ca­tion

IRWIN **
Time for a New State, Lagos, 2010
Photo­graph

IRWIN (Andrej Savski) **
Time for a New State, 2016
Wood, tar, oil on canvas

IRWIN in coope­ra­tion with Fatmir Mustafa-Karllo *
NSK Territory Prishtina, 2022
Photo­graph; photo by Atdhe Mulla

IRWIN (Borut Vogelnik) **
I Declare This Territory Mine, 2023
Pencil and stamp ink on paper

* Courtesy the artists

++ Gregor Podnar, Vienna

The project NSK State in Time by the artist collec­tive Neue Slowe­ni­sche Kunst / New Slovenian Art (NSK) is a utopian state par excel­lence: an artistic “state structure” without real territory, manifes­ting itself in the form of temporary embassies or consu­lates. Anyone can become a citizen of this “state” regard­less of their own citizenship or natio­na­lity. The passports issued by the NSK State in Time not only look decep­tively real but have already proven helpful in crossing borders.

Société Réaliste

U.N. Camou­flage, 2012
50 of 193 flags, digital print on polyester

Courtesy the artists, Galerie Jérôme Poggi, Paris, and acb Gallery, Budapest

The expansive flag instal­la­tion U.N. Camou­flage envisions a utopia in which nation-states are overcome and their borders are dissolved. Using a pattern software, the flags of all nation-states were abstracted to the point that their symbolic and identity-forming functions were under­mined. Given current political develo­p­ments and the relevance of inter­na­tional organiz­a­tions such as the United Nations, Société Réaliste’s trans­na­tional utopia seems more urgent than ever.

Cluster 3

Indivi­dual Utopias and Commu­nities

“Classical” utopias generally pursued a univer­sa­list claim, as they usually attempted to realize an order that included all indivi­duals, but this often led to coercion and did not rule out the risk of totali­ta­ria­nism. The idea associated with utopias today, on the other hand, can only be redeemed if it offers emanci­pa­tion, equal rights, and freedom for all—social libera­tion movements such as Black Lives Matter with their slogan “Nobody’s free, until everybody’s free” are impres­sive proof of this. When reflec­ting on whose freedom is meant, the question arises of whose utopias are actually assumed—a question that the artist Cao Fei poses almost program­ma­ti­cally for the works brought together in this cluster in her video Whose Utopia (2006). The subjec­tive nature of many utopias often comes to the fore, as do collec­tive and indivi­dual dreams. On the other hand, works such as those by Cauleen Smith, Jaanus Samma, and Chitra Ganesh refer to the role of commu­nities, counter­cul­tures, and possible places of retreat in which queer, non-binary, Indige­nous, and other groups and indivi­duals affected by discri­mi­na­tion can tempora­rily experi­ence the freedom that is often denied to them in society as a whole.

AES+F

Mare Mediter­ra­neum, 2018
Porcelain, paint
Unless otherwise specified Ed. 5/6 + 3 AP

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #1, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #2, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #3, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #4, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #5, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #6, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #7, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #8, 2018

Mare Mediter­ra­neum #9, 2018

50 × 68 × 33 cm

Courtesy the artists

This group of nine porcelain sculp­tures trenchantly exposes the inequa­li­ties of the present day. While refugees fleeing to a life of safety experi­ence the Mediter­ra­nean as a deadly barrier, the luxury desires of a decadent elite seem to know no bounds. Tradi­tional porcelain art, with its own history of Asian-European migration, proves to be a fitting medium for reflec­ting on borders.

Martin Beck

Headlines, 2010
Silkscreen on cardboard

Headlines, 2010
Silkscreen on cardboard

mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien

The headlines in this bipartite work are based on keywords and captions from various issues of The Modern Utopian, a magazine published in the 1960s and 1970s which covered alter­na­tive hippie and commune culture in the United States. The Headlines document aspects of contem­porary American counter­cul­ture, revealing its utopian ambitions as well as its abysses and failures.

Cao Fei

Whose Utopia, 2006
1‑channel video projec­tion, color, sound
20:21 min.

Courtesy Sprüth Magers and Vitamin Creative Space

Cao Fei’s video asks, in an indivi­dual and universal way, whose utopias we are actually basing our lives on. The artist spent several months with workers at an Osram light bulb factory in China’s Pearl River Delta, asking them to visualize their personal wishes and dreams for the future on camera. This poetic work reveals the everyday utopias of migrant workers in modern-day China and places them in the context of globa­liz­a­tion and indus­trial modernization.

Chitra Ganesh

A city will share her secrets if you know how to ask, 2020/2025
Site-specific instal­la­tion, adapted for the Kunst­mu­seum Wolfsburg, vinyl foil on window panes

Courtesy the artist

In her drawings, collages, and paintings inspired by comics and anime, Chitra Ganesh combines elements of specu­la­tive science fiction, South Asian history, religion, and mythology with queer­fe­mi­nist narra­tives. The window piece, adapted especially for the exhibi­tion Utopia: The Right to Hope, is a powerful statement in favor of queerness and empowerment.

Otobong Nkanga

In a Place Yet Unknown, 2017
Woven fabric, metal reservoir, ink, dye
Ed. 1/4

Associa­zione Genesi, Milan Otobong Nkanga’s tapestry poeti­cally reflects on processes of trans­for­ma­tion as funda­mental charac­te­ris­tics of societies and identi­ties. Soaked in ink-black liquid at the bottom, the tapestry displays a poem by the artist that reads: “In a place between stillness / fear and a slow meltdown / a new form grows / visible only to the heart”—an expres­sion of burgeo­ning hope and confi­dence in dark times.

Jaanus Samma

Riga Postcards, 2020
Digital print on silk, metal stands, flower arran­ge­ment

Courtesy the artist

The instal­la­tion presents a booth from a fictional travel trade show from the 1970s and 1980s, in which Riga is shown as a utopian retreat for the queer community in the USSR. Due to its attrac­tive location on the Baltic Sea and its distance from the political center of the Soviet Union, Riga offered the queer community relative anonymity and freedom of movement. Given the (renewed) surge in repres­sion in many post-Soviet bloc states, Samma’s work remains highly relevant today.

Cauleen Smith

Sojourner, 2018
1‑channel video instal­la­tion, color, sound, bench, disco balls, turntable, wallpaper
22:41 min.

Courtesy the artist and Morán Morán

Central themes in Cauleen Smith’s artistic work include healing, feminism, Black history, and Afrofu­tu­rism. In her video Sojourner, set in the California desert, Smith depicts a feminist utopia: a collec­tive of women of color who create a futuristic society. Excerpts from various texts are heard on transistor radios, including the “Combahee River Collec­tive Statement” from 1977, which protested the multiple forms of oppres­sion experi­enced by Black women and called for freedom and equality.

Cluster 4

The Right to a Future

The right to hope also implies the right to a future worth living and the overco­ming of political, social, economic, and other diffe­rences, which are overcome and recon­ciled in the sense of healing.
However, hope does not mean naïvely waiting for a miracle or some kind of salvation. Nor does it mean repres­sing or even denying realities with their complex challenges but rather confron­ting them and facing them with courage.
In addition to a “guiding star” (Ólafur Elíasson, Naviga­tion star for utopia, 2022), the perspec­tives of children can offer guidance because they should be listened to in parti­cular, as the future belongs to them: In Cornelia Parker’s two-channel video THE FUTURE: Sixes and Sevens (2023), children talk about their indivi­dual wishes for the future, but also about their fears. Young climate activists have their say in Rory Pilgrim’s video The Under­cur­rent (2019–ongoing). And even if it is almost too good to believe: In Nasan Tur’s Good News (2009), there is only good news in the newspaper. A brave new world?

Olafur Eliasson

Naviga­tion star for utopia, 2022
Stainless steel, wood, colored glass, brass, paint, LED lights

Courtesy the artist, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles, and neuger­riem­schneider, Berlin

For many years, Olafur Eliasson has been interested in scien­tific instru­ments and naviga­tion. The Naviga­tion star for utopia resembles an oversized, three-dimen­sional compass rose composed of stainless-steel rings, colored glass, and light. Integrated LEDs illumi­nate the interior and shine outward. References to orien­ta­tion and movement play just as much of a role in the work as the pursuit of better futures. The work reminds us that people are often drawn to the idea of utopias, and symbo­lizes that in our quest for them, we are guided not only by geogra­phical coordi­nates, but also by an inner explo­ra­tion of ideals.

Cornelia Parker

THE FUTURE: Sixes and Sevens, 2023
2‑channel video instal­la­tion, color, sound
8:55 min.

Courtesy the artist and Frith Street Gallery, London

In this video instal­la­tion, a class of primary school students is asked questions about the future. The six- and seven-year-olds talk about their fears, worries, and hardships and reveal an astonis­hing awareness of contem­porary social, political, and ecolo­gical issues, such as the climate crisis. The children also describe their wishes, dreams, and hopes and talk about how they themselves want to contri­bute to a better society as adults.

Rory Pilgrim

The Under­cur­rent, 2019–ongoing
1‑channel video (HD), color, sound
50 min.

Courtesy Maureen Paley, London

Based on an online open call, The Under­cur­rent was created in colla­bo­ra­tion with ten young climate activists in Boise, Idaho. In the HD video, Rory Pilgrim sensi­tively explores how the climate crisis, an overwhel­ming global problem, is dealt with on a personal level. How does climate change relate to other aspects of the activists’ lives, such as family, friendship, and the need for a home? What emotional tools are necessary to cope with the crisis?

Sputniko!

Drone in Search for a Four-Leaf Clover, 2023
2‑channel video (4K), color, sound
9:36 min.

Creative coder: Riku Ueno (P.I.C.S. Tech) / Creative director: Hironori Terai (P.I.C.S. Tech) / Technical producer: Yoshitaka Yuge (P.I.C.S. Tech) / Produc­tion manager: Kokoro Kanzaki (P.I.C.S. Tech) / Sound composer: Jaermulk Manhattan

Courtesy Sputniko!

Four-leaf clovers are commonly regarded as symbols of luck, love, and hope. For this video, a drone was equipped with artifi­cial intel­li­gence (AI) to identify the rare, auspi­cious leaves in clover fields. The work deliber­ately plays with the ambiva­lence of AI and drone techno­logy: while this techno­logy makes finding four-leaf clovers easier, it also raises the question of whether they can truly bring us luck.

Nasan Tur

Good News, 2009
2 of 5,000 newspa­pers, each consis­ting of 21 posters

Courtesy the artist

The newspaper Good News, consis­ting of twenty-one posters, documents a contem­porary history of good news. The press photo­graphs, sourced from newspa­pers and magazines from the 1970s to the 2000s, bear witness to a hopeful and optimistic world through histo­rical moments. By combining utopia and media criticism, Nasan Tur addresses the still-relevant question of the role of visual media and the evalua­tion of social progress and regression.

Cluster 5

Sustaina­bi­lity, Climate Activism, and the Rights of Nature

Contem­porary utopias can spark hope for concrete solutions to the crises of our time, social and economic injus­tices, and the human-made climate catastrophe. The positions gathered in this thematic cluster show that sustainable thinking and action are often already being success­fully imple­mented against the backdrop of a solution-oriented, activist, and legally sound under­stan­ding. While the rethink*rotor project (2022–ongoing) by OX2architekten is testing innova­tive solutions for repur­po­sing disused wind turbine rotor blades as reused building elements in an archi­tec­tural context, the Team Fungal Mycelium at the Ostfalia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences is resear­ching sustainable composite materials using the example of mycelium—the under­ground network of fungal threads. The artist and activist Haley Mellin combines photo­rea­listic paintings of forests with concrete nature conser­va­tion in her works. Ursula Biemann and Tomás Saraceno, on the other hand, deal with questions regarding the rights of nature. Biemann’s two-channel video, Forest Law (2014), documents a court case in which the rights of the Amazonian forest in Ecuador were recognized. In 2020, Saraceno undertook the world’s most sustainable balloon flight, powered purely by solar energy, in Argentina, while also protes­ting against lithium mining together with local Indige­nous communities.

Pablo Albarenga

Seeds of Resis­tance – Daniela, 2019
C‑print on Aludibond

Courtesy the artist

Daniela is an LGBT activist from the Prainha II community on the Tapajós River. She fights for LGBT recogni­tion and defends her territory from the expansion of agribusi­ness. Surroun­ding the natural reserve where she lives are vast soybean fields.
Left: One of the soybean fields adjacent to Daniela’s territory.
Middle: Daniela lying on her land.
Right: The boundary between the rainfo­rest where Daniela resides and the soybean fields stret­ching to the horizon.
Prainha Community, Tapajós River, Pará, Brazil, 2019 Text: Pablo Albarenga, 2019

Pablo Albarenga

Seeds of Resis­tance – Drica, 2019
C‑print on Aludibond

Courtesy the artist

Drica was the first woman elected as the Quilom­bola Territory Coordi­nator, repre­sen­ting five commu­nities along the Trombetas River in the Brazilian Amazon. The first challenge these commu­nities face is the pressure from loggers eager to strike deals with them. A second challenge comes from a bauxite mine downstream, which has been construc­ting dams that threaten the entire Trombetas River. However, for Drica, the greatest challenge is a large hydroelectric dam project that is likely to be approved by the government, endan­ge­ring the river’s ecosystem and displa­cing the commu­nities from their ancestral lands.
Left: An aerial view of the Rio do Norte bauxite mine adjacent to Drica’s territory.
Right: Drica lying on her ancestral land.
Trombetas River, Pará, Brazil, 2019

Text: Pablo Albarenga, 2019

Pablo Albarenga

Seeds of Resis­tance – Daniela Silva, 2023
C‑print on Aludibond

Courtesy the artist

Daniela is a strong woman who continues to resist and strive to transform Altamira, her hometown, into a better place for future genera­tions. She and many others lost their homes due to the construc­tion of one of the world’s largest hydroelectric power dams. With this signi­fi­cant project, Altamira has become one of the most violent cities in Brazil.
Left: Dead trees, left behind in large numbers after the flooding of the Xingu River after comple­tion of the Belo Monte dam, decay in the water.
Right: Daniela Silva poses for a portrait lying in the spot where her house used to stand in the “baixões de Altamira” (Altamira lowlands). According to Daniela, families were removed from this area because it was supposed to be flooded, but that has not happened. Today, it remains a barren square.
Altamira, Pará, Brazil, 2023

Text: Pablo Albarenga, 2023

Ursula Biemann

Forest Law, 2014
2‑channel video instal­la­tion, color, sound,
38 min.

Courtesy Ursula Biemann and Paulo Tavares

This instal­la­tion documents court cases in which the rights of forests are asserted. The starting point is the 2012 lawsuit that the Sarayaku, a Quechua (Kichwa) community in the Ecuado­rian Amazon, won against the Ecuado­rian government, which had allowed oil drilling in the Indige­nous community’s habitat. The Ecuado­rian Amazon is one of the most species- and mineral­rich regions on Earth and continues to be seriously threa­tened by the extrac­tion of raw materials.

Andreas Greiner

1713 (Eternal Line), 2025
Various tree seeds arranged in a parametric pattern

Collec­tion 888, Hamburg

Folke Köbber­ling

Lasting Signs of Jubilee, 2022
Wood, wool, plants, other materials
245 × 180 × 420 cm

The “Jubilee Car,” which was origi­nally conceived in colla­bo­ra­tion with the Univer­sity of Vienna, is made entirely of renewable materials, including wood and raw wool. QR codes allow exhibi­tion visitors to listen to lectures on topics such as sustaina­bi­lity, habitat conser­va­tion, and biodi­ver­sity inside the car. Covered in wool, the car provides an acousti­cally pleasant space where people can engage with important topics in peace, even in an urban environment.ö

Haley Mellin

Northern Highlands, Guatemala, 2025
Gouache, acrylic, charcoal, and ink on canvas, framed

Tree Fall (Between Worlds), 2025
Gouache, charcoal, and ink on canvas, framed

Where the Sky Touches Earth, 2025
Gouache, charcoal, and ink on canvas, framed

The wood used for the frames was offset by a donation to the nonprofit One Tree Planted

Courtesy the artist and DITTRICH & SCHLECHTRIEM

“I paint outdoors while suppor­ting the permanent conser­va­tion of the landscape,” explains the artist and activist Haley Mellin. Her photo­rea­listic paintings, created with nontoxic materials like water-based gouache instead of oil paint, result from precise obser­va­tions of nature. For the exhibi­tion Utopia: The Right to Hope, Mellin created three new works, which she painted in the Northern Highlands of Guatemala. With her founda­tion Art into Acres, she is also committed to the preser­va­tion of forests.

Achim Mohné

The_Vegan_Scanning_Printing_Cooking_Project, 2018–ongoing
Cooking perfor­mance with seasonal and regional vegeta­bles and edible plants, scanner, computer, printer

Edelkas­tanie [Castanea sativa], 2017
Pigment print on Hahne­mühle, framed

Löwenzahn [Taraxacum], 2017
Pigment print on Hahne­mühle, framed

Magnolie [Magnolia], 2017
Pigment print on Hahne­mühle, framed

Roter Fingerhut [Digitalis Purpurea], 2017
Pigment print on Hahne­mühle, framed

Courtesy the artist

Whether dande­lions, chestnuts, or blackberries—regional and seasonal plants are first scanned and then turned into vegan dishes as part of cooking events. With their fasci­na­ting sharpness of detail, the scans have a much higher resolu­tion than photo­graphs. Mohné does not approach his project as a moralistic appeal to go vegan. Rather, he sees it as an oppor­tu­nity to show alter­na­tive ways of eating that are ecolo­gi­cally conscious and healthy.

Ina-Marie Orawiec, OX2architekten / Marcin Orawiec, h_da

rethink*rotor, since 2022
Project for the reuse of disused rotor­blades from wind turbines
Rotor blade, banner

Courtesy OX2architekten

The award-winning CreativeLab by OX2architekten focuses on appli­ca­tion ideas and construc­tive solutions that creatively harness the durabi­lity and perfor­mance of a full-sized rotor blade while minimi­zing impact on form and material. Instead of destroying rotor blades dismantled from wind turbines, they use them as struc­tural building elements to reduce the raw material requi­re­ments of the construc­tion industry and to drive optimiz­a­tion processes in architecture.

Oliver Ressler

Contours of the Coming World, 2024
Ink drawings on paper, framed
Drawings: Claudia Schioppa

Courtesy the artist, àngels Barcelona, and The Gallery Apart, Rome

With phrases such as “Break up concrete. Plant trees” and “Warmth through solida­rity,” Oliver Ressler’s drawings call for collec­tive action to protest environ­ment­ally damaging economic systems and lifestyles. In light of the effects of climate catastrophe on planetary life, the drawings can be seen as pointed calls to action that are more urgent than ever.

Tomás Saraceno

Fly with Pacha, Into the Aerocene, 2017 – ongoing
1‑channel video, color, sound
67:15 min.
Directed by: Maximi­liano Laina and Tomás Saraceno / Script: Claudia Aboaf, Tomás Saraceno, Iosi Havilio.

Aerocene Backpack AE009, 2016
Mallard, brown textile
Developed by the Aerocene Community and Founda­tion

Courtesy Aerocene Founda­tion

In the Andean culture, Pacha is a superior energy that organizes and harmo­nizes all inhabi­tants in the Cosmos. A message, a film, a journey around the sun with Pachamama, a space-time towards eras of comple­men­ta­ri­ties, Fly with Pacha, into the Aerocene portrays the long-standing relati­onship between many ever-growing commu­nities across multiple conti­nents, documen­ting the ongoing colla­bo­ra­tion between Aerocene and the Indige­nous Commu­nities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guaya­tayoc, in Jujuy, Northern Argentina.

Initiated in 2017, with additional archival fragments dating from 2006 onwards, this project is an ongoing dialogue with Kollas Indige­nous Peoples, protec­ting their ancestral lands from lithium extrac­tion, for eco-social justice in the name of the peoples of the Global South.

In Jujuy in January 2020, the aerosolar sculpture Aerocene Pacha rose using only the air and the sun, comple­tely free from fossil fuels, batteries, lithium, helium, and hydrogen, becoming the most sustainable flight in human history. This journey set 32 world records, recognised by the Fédéra­tion Aéronau­tique Inter­na­tio­nale (FAI), with Aerocene pilot Leticia Noemi Marques, who flew with the message: “Water and Life are Worth More than Lithium”, written by the Indige­nous Commu­nities of Salinas Grandes and Laguna de Guaya­tayoc.

Three years later, in January 2023, we gathered once again for The Alfarcito Gathering, as national and inter­na­tional geopo­li­tical and commer­cial interests continue to pressure the basin. Faced with the worsening of the climate crisis and the urgency of the energy transi­tion, the commu­nities’ message is clear: We no longer want to be a sacrifice zone. The Global North’s “green” transi­tion cannot reproduce the same extrac­ti­vist, neoco­lo­nial politics that have been imposed on the Peoples of the South, ampli­fying social, ethnic and environ­mental inequa­li­ties. During this encounter, the indige­nous commu­nities declared their ancestral lands as a Subject of Rights. The Rights of Nature movement is striving for rivers, lakes, and mountains to bear legal rights in the same, or at least a similar, manner as human beings. We must listen to the voices of the terri­to­ries, in defense of water, salt flats and the commons, for an ecosocial energy transi­tion!

Aerocene is an era-in-the-making, a community, a non-profit foundation.We would like to thank especially: Verónica Chávez, Maris­tella Svampa, Alicia Chalabe, Graciela Speranza, Joaquín Ezcurra, Melisa Argento, Inés Katzen­stein, Claudia Aboaf, Antonia Alampi, Alicia Andersen, Maximi­liano Laina, DaeHyung Lee and BTS, Manuela Mazure Azcona, Lars Behrendt, Claudia Meléndez Rivera, Sarah Kisner, Gabriela Sorbi, Alberto Pesavento, Till Hergen­hahn, Leticia Marqués, Verónica Fiorito, Sasha Engelman, Jol Thomson, Hans-Ulrich Obrist, Emma Enderby, Rebecca Lamarche-Vadel, Yasmil Raymond, Francesca von Habsburg, Bronisław Szerszyński, Pablo Suárez, Nick Shapiro, Garance Primat, Carlos Almeida, Bill McKenna, Ludovica Illari, Daniel Birnbaum, Molly Nesbit, Barbara Bulc, Violeta Bulc, Sven Steudte, Josep María Llaidó, Gustavo Alonso Serafín, Ilka Tödt, Dario Laganà, Enrique Viale, and Gastón Chillier.

The Aerocene Founda­tion is made possible by the generous support of Espace Muraille, Eric and Caroline Freymond.

Thank you also to Andersen’s, Copen­hagen; Ruth Benzacar, Buenos Aires; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York/Los Angeles; Pinksummer contem­porary art, Genoa, and neuger­riem­schneider, Berlin.

You are invited to be part of this movement for eco-social justice at aerocene.org.

Tomás Saraceno

Live(s) on Air – Movement 2, 2023
Inkjet print on Hahne­mühle Photo Rag
Ed. 2/6

Live(s) on Air – Movement 3, 2023
Inkjet print on Hahne­mühle Photo Rag
Ed. 2/6

Live(s) on Air – Movement 5, 2023
Inkjet print on Hahne­mühle Photo Rag
Ed. 2/6

neuger­riem­schneider, Berlin

Team Myzel der Ostfalia Hochschule (MyB)

My[co]Future, 2025
Fungal mycelium, wood chips, wood

Research project “Fungal Mycelium as a Composite Material for Use in Product Develo­p­ment and Archi­tec­ture” in the Institute for Recycling at Ostfalia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences: Ingo Johannsen, Annalena Manz, Luisa Kisten­brügger, Björn Kendel­ba­cher

Energy and raw materials are becoming scarce—so ecolo­gical alter­na­tives are needed. Mycelium, the fine root network of fungi, grows in plant fibers or wood chips, forming stable, light­weight, and compost­able material. As a substi­tute for various materials, such as wood, plastics, packaging, or insula­tion, it offers great potential for a circular, sustainable economy of the future. This project is part of the ongoing research project “Fungal Mycelium as a Composite Material for Use in Product Develo­p­ment and Archi­tec­ture” in the Institute for Recycling at Ostfalia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences in Wolfsburg.

Terreform ONE

Post Carbon City, 2014
Digital rendering

Courtesy Mitchell Joachim, Terreform ONE

This nonprofit think tank for sustainable urban develo­p­ment focuses on “living archi­tec­ture” made from biolo­gical materials. The Post Carbon City project envisions a climate-neutral utopia for New York: Manhattan will be renatured and deliber­ately flooded, and new zones for solar energy, vertical agricul­ture, and sustainable mobility will be created to realize a climate-resilient, biodi­ver­sity-promoting metro­polis after the age of fossil fuels.

Liam Young

The Great Endeavor, 2023
1‑channel video, color, sound, costumes
Different dimen­sions
9 min.

Designed and directed by Liam Young, VFX Super­visor Alexey Marfin / Costume produc­tion: Ane Crabtree / Original
sound­track: Lyra Pramuk

Courtesy the artist

This specu­la­tive short film addresses the efforts needed to remove CO2 from the atmos­phere and compares this process to the 1969 Moon landing: once again, a global race is urgently needed. The visually impres­sive animation depicts a technical utopia with almost radical optimism and calls for collec­tive action, while also raising critical questions about power, infra­st­ruc­ture, and global cooperation.

ZK/U and KUNST­re­PU­BLIK

BeeDAO, 2019–ongoing
Instal­la­tion, sensor kits, bee data, Raspberry Pi, monitors, metal, wood, paint, chalk, vinyl, textiles

Courtesy the artists

Although bees generate more than 200 billion euros in global economic output annually, their habitat is threa­tened by humans, climate crisis, diseases, and invasive species. BeeDAO, which stands for Bee Decen­tra­lized Autono­mous Organiz­a­tion, is a Web3 organiz­a­tion that aims to secure and improve the well-being of bees worldwide. BeeDAO is an inter­ac­tive instal­la­tion of human and nonhuman actors that promotes inter­spe­cies democracy, wealth sharing, and knowledge creation.

Cluster 6

Solida­rity Among Species

In a world of ecolo­gical crises, how can we conceive new ways of living together with animals, plants, and other life forms? The works in this cluster question the dominant human perspec­tive and invite us to explore empathy, care, and coexis­tence as the basis of a new relati­onship among species, a unifying kinship that trans­cends the bounda­ries between species. For example, Hermann Weber documented his life/coexistence with a crow that he raised and released into the wild over several years. The work of Lin May Saeed, who has always campai­gned for animal rights in her work, speci­fi­cally calls for the “libera­tion of animals from their cages.” Uýra Sodoma trans­forms herself into a hybrid creature in her impres­sive perfor­mances and photo­graphs to advocate for biodi­ver­sity in the Brazilian Amazon region and to draw attention to its devas­ta­ting explo­ita­tion. In Khvay Samnang’s video, Calling for Rain (2021), it is the animals themselves who, through their cohesion, defeat the fire dragon, a symbol of human-made climate change. These artistic confron­ta­tions open up utopian spaces in which a fairer, more respectful and deeper connec­tion between all forms of life becomes conceivable.

melanie bonajo

Night Soil – Nocturnal Gardening, 2016
HD video, color, sound
49:47 min.

Courtesy melanie bonajo and AKINCI

Care and affection for fellow human beings, animate and inanimate nature, and more-than-human species are the central themes of this video, which portrays various women’s groups that are already imple­men­ting utopian models of solida­rity-based coexis­tence and anti-capita­list economic practices. These groups explore new ways of coexis­ting and address issues such as sustainable land use, animal welfare, and environ­mental protection.

Chitra Ganesh

Never forget the smell of wet earth, 2025
Mixed media on paper

Courtesy the artist

In her drawings, collages, and paintings inspired by comics and anime, Chitra Ganesh combines elements of specu­la­tive science fiction, South Asian history, religion, and mythology with queer­fe­mi­nist narra­tives. The collage, created especially for the exhibi­tion, expresses a deep connec­tion with nature and the animal kingdom.

Rosana Paulino

A geometria à brasi­leira: azul n. 1, 2021
Acrylic and collage on canvas

Teixeira Collec­tion, Lisbon, Portugal

Rosana Paulino addresses racism within the Brazilian diaspora, which has its roots in the enslave­ment and depor­ta­tion of Black people from the African continent. However, her work is also charac­te­rized by hope and the possi­bi­lity of healing emotional trauma. In A geometria à brasi­leira:  azul n. 1, she references exoti­ci­zing stereo­types of Brazil as a paradi­siacal utopia. The triptych features a spiritual being, a godlike “tree woman,” who merges with nature and refers back to the towering jatobá tree.

Lin May Saeed

The Libera­tion of Animals from their Cages XXII / Woman with Kid, 2019
Steel, lacquer

Courtesy Lin May Saeed Estate and Jacky Strenz, Frankfurt am Main

The central theme of Lin May Saeed’s work is the relati­onship between humans and animals, which she expressed poeti­cally through her sculp­tures and drawings. As an animal rights advocate, she used her art to raise awareness and to promote under­stan­ding of animals within human conscious­ness. Her animal sculp­tures, often made of Styrofoam, are in the tradition of Arte Povera and reflect the relati­onship to the Anthropo­cene and the Petrol Age—an era defined by human domina­tion over nonhuman species.

Khvay Samnang

Calling for Rain, 2021
1‑channel video, color, sound, 5 mask sculp­tures (woven vines, steel)
30:42 min.

Ed. 2/5 + 2 AP

The work was commis­sioned for the Children’s Biennale by the National Gallery of Singapore.

Courtesy the artist

Inspired by the epic poem Reamker, the Cambodian version of the Indian national epic Ramavana, Khvay Samnang’s video tells a contem­porary story about the destruc­tion of the rainfo­rest and the effects of climate change. The focus is on actors wearing animal masks who perform the story of Kiri, a monkey who falls in love with Kongea, a fish, and defeats the fire dragon with the help of other animals to save the dying forest.

Uýra Sodoma

Série A Última Floresta – Terra Pelada, 2017
Print on Aludibond

Série Elementar – Lama, 2017
Print on Aludibond

Série A Última Floresta – FOGO, 2017
Print on Aludibond

Courtesy Uýra Sodoma

Uýra Sodoma, an alter ego of the nonbinary artist and biologist Emerson Pontes, embodies a spiritual entity committed to biodi­ver­sity and the preser­va­tion of Indige­nous habitats. Through perfor­mances that blend environ­mental activism with mytho­lo­gical elements and aesthetic forms of expres­sion borrowed from the drag community, Uýra Sodoma draws attention to the devas­ta­ting conse­quences of indus­trial explo­ita­tion and defore­sta­tion in the Brazilian Amazon region.

Hermann Weber

Bücher / Der Götter­bote, 2019–2022
14 linen-bound books

Götter­bote, 2024
Oil on birch bark

Courtesy the artist

Hermann Weber lives out the often-called for “inter­spe­cies kinship” every day: for many years, he has been meeting with a crow that he has raised and released into the wild, together with its partner. He meticu­lously documents these encoun­ters in illus­trated diaries, as well as in works of art, such as Messenger of the Gods.

Cluster 7
Utopias of Alter­na­tive Futures and Posthuman Beings

Utopias of alter­na­tive futures, Afrofu­tu­rism, and visions of digital bodies and experi­ences form the starting point of this cluster. The positions gathered here focus on, among other things, (bio)technological develo­p­ments, prost­hetic bodies, and digital or hybrid spaces, and the associated utopian imagi­na­tions of a libera­ting, emanci­pa­tory, and trans­for­ma­tive intert­wi­ning of humans and techno­lo­gies. In the video game Morpho­genic Angels: Chapter 1 (2023) developed by the Keiken collec­tive, players are immersed in a post-capita­list science fiction scenario in which humans appear angelic and possess the conscious­ness of all species, both human and nonhuman. Cao Fei addresses the metaverse in her work Oz (2022): A non-binary avatar, a chimera between human, machine, and octopus, glides through its digital spheres. Yael Bartana imagines an entirely different narrative in her multi­media work group Light to the Nations (2024): What if human destruc­tion made the Earth uninha­bi­table? With a genera­tion ship, part of humanity could be saved and travel through space indefi­ni­tely or return once our planet has regene­rated. In contrast, Yinka Shonibare sculpture Refugee Astronaut XII (2025) strides across the Earth and becomes a symbol of flight, migration, and the hope for a better life elsewhere.

aLifve­Forms (fed and cared for by JP Raether)

Trans­for­mella, TRANSFORMELLA 4.4.5 (2015), 2019
C‑print, framed

Protek­torama, ORGANIC LIGHT EMMITTING PROCESSIORAMA [5.5.4] (2014), 2020
C‑print, framed

Schwarm­wesen, KARACHI TRADER 6.1.6.0 (2019), 2020
C‑print, framed

Courtesy the artists and Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin / München

Trans­for­mella, Schwarm­wesen (Swarm Creatures), and Protek­torama are the names of the avatars created by aLifve­Forms. JP Raether embodies these avatars in perfor­ma­tive inter­ven­tions in consumer contexts, such as at IKEA or in Apple Stores. In their multi­layered, changing, and constantly evolving incar­na­tions, these humanoid avatars—also known as “Alter­Iden­ti­ties” or “SelfSis­ters”— engage with contem­porary techno­lo­gical phenomena, challen­ging construc­tions of identity, language, and reality. They demons­trate that, in every reality, the possi­bi­lity of a different, utopian world is conceivable.

Yael Bartana
Light to the Nations, 2024

Doreet LeVitte Harten, Interview, 2024
1‑channel video, color, sound
11:30 min.

Genera­tion Ship, 2024
3D print, stainless steel, thermo­plastic polyester (PETG), nylon­po­lymer (PA12), mirror, wood

Life in the Genera­tion Ship, 2024
3D rendering (VR version), color, sound
21 min.

Light to the Nations – poster series / Farewell, 2023
Fine Art Print

Light to the Nations – poster series / Tikkun Olam, 2023
Fine Art Print

Light to the Nations – poster series / Otherland, 2023
Fine Art Print

Light to the Nations – poster series / The Ten Spheres of the Genera­tion Ship, 2025
Fine Art Print

Courtesy Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam / Sommer Contem­porary Art, Tel Aviv / Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan / Petzel Gallery, New York / Capitain Petzel, Berlin, and Cecilia Hillström Gallery, Stockholm

At the center of the multi­media work group is a spaceship designed for several genera­tions and for an indefi­nite period of time, in order to leave Earth after its destruc­tion caused by humans. Based on the Kabba­listic concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world), the spaceship offers the utopian—and simul­ta­ne­ously dystopian—opportunity to transport its crew to a new planet, travel endlessly through space, or return them after Earth has been regenerated.

Nuotama Frances Bodomo

Afronauts, 2014
HD video, b/w, sound
14 min.

Courtesy the artist

The film Afronauts references the Zambian space program initiated by Edward Mukuka Nkoloso in the 1960s, which aimed to beat the Soviet Union and the United States in the race to land on the Moon. The focus is on the woman astronaut Matha Mwamba, just seventeen years old at the time. Racism and gender discri­mi­na­tion in histo­rical space programs is as much a theme as the design of an Afrofu­tu­rist utopia.

Eglė Budvytytė

Songs from the compost: mutating bodies, imploding stars, 2020
1‑channel video (4K), color, sound
30 min.

Courtesy the artist

Eglė Budvytytė’s video visua­lizes the utopia of a symbiotic coexis­tence of human and nonhuman natures and forms of conscious­ness. The young perfor­mers do not walk upright but rather crawl through the landscape to hypnotic sounds as part of a choreo­graphy. Their bodies appear as sites of activity, mutation, and hybridity, challen­ging tradi­tional catego­riz­a­tions and hierarchies.

Margret Eicher

Inter­cul­tu­ra­lists have arrived 2, 2025
Digital montage / jacquard
270 × 358 cm

Courtesy the artist and Galerie Michael Janssen, Berlin

In Margret Eicher’s work, tradi­tional tapestry meets the artifi­cially generated aesthe­tics of the modern infor­ma­tion society. In the digital montage, rodents in space­suits and flying saucers surround the pop icon Beyoncé, a Black Barbie, and Kenza Layli, a Moroccan lifestyle influ­encer who became the first Miss AI in 2024. Are they emissa­ries repre­sen­ting inclusion, diversity, and empower­ment on a foreign planet? Or are they hyperreal simula­tions posing as mirages against the ruins of a failed utopia?

Cao Fei

Oz, 2022
2‑channel video instal­la­tion, color, sound, two screens, speakers, artifi­cial plants, bark mulch
Dimen­sions variable
1:36 min.
Ed. 1/6 + 2 AP
Music: Ma Haiping

Courtesy Sprüth Magers and Vitamin Creative Space

The avatar Oz was developed speci­fi­cally for the metaverse in the work Duotopia. With ist andro­gy­nous appearance and cyborg-like tentacles reminis­cent of an octopus, Oz embodies a nonbinary, fluid identity. The avatar radiates equani­mity as it looks calmly and hopefully at existence in the metaverse.

Robert Gabris

Insec­topia, 2020
Perfor­mance and instal­la­tion: 10 insect “autoprints,” ink on silk, 2 swings, bamboo sticks, white bondage rope; 6 masks, bamboo sticks, string; perfor­mance artifacts on paper with body imprints
Dimen­sions variable

mumok – Museum moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, 2024

The work of Robert Gabris centers on the human body, its capacity for trans­for­ma­tion, and questions of identity. For this instal­la­tion, he covered silk panels with impres­sions of his own body. The resulting silhou­ettes in black ink resemble oversized insect bodies. For Gabris, a member of the Roma community, this artistic process of trans­for­ma­tion is also an act of resis­tance against racism.

Keiken

Morpho­genic Angels: Chapter 1, 2023
HD PC game with Xbox controller, color, sound
Game duration ca. 50–70 min.

Courtesy the artists

In this inter­ac­tive work, the Keiken collec­tive (Tanya Cruz, Hana Omori, and Isabel Ramos) presents a postca­pi­ta­list future where humans acquire trans­human abilities through organic changes, giving them the conscious­ness of all human and nonhuman species. This immersive controller game tells the story of a romance between two avatars and explores techno­lo­gical develo­p­ments in the metaverse as well as the utopian hopes attached to hybrid, nonbinary, and trans­human identities.

Yinka Shonibare CBE RA

Refugee Astronaut XII, 2025
Fiber­glass sculpture, Dutch wax fabric, net, posses­sions, astronaut helmet, moon boots

Courtesy the artist

This life-size figure wears a space suit made of colorful Dutch wax fabric and carries various belon­gings on its back. The astronaut becomes a symbol of global migration, uprooting, and climate catastrophe, while also repre­sen­ting the Afrofu­tu­rist concept of seeking refuge in outer space. The work combines post-colonial criticism with a warning about the conse­quences of environ­mental destruc­tion and unbridled growth.

Maja Smrekar

K‑9_topology: Hybrid Family, 2016
2 C‑prints, framed

Courtesy Maja Smrekar and Manuel Vason

The “making of kin” between species is literally at the heart of this series. For several months, the artist went into isolation with her dogs. With her hormone balance altered through inter­ven­tions, she breastfed the puppies. Smrekar’s work is a feminist homage to Joseph Beuys’s perfor­mance I Like America and America Likes Me (1974) with a live coyote, while also directly imple­men­ting Donna Haraway’s call for solida­rity and respon­si­bi­lity between species.

Rhoda Ting und Mikkel Bojesen

Mycoge­nesis, 2021
Fungi, yeast, bacteria microbes, glass, resin, iron

Courtesy the artists

This living sculpture was created in colla­bo­ra­tion with fungi, yeast, and bacteria. It raises questions about the meaning of intel­li­gence beyond the human perspec­tive of reason and ratio­na­lity. Taking inspi­ra­tion from fungi as a decen­tra­lized and symbiotic form of intel­li­gence, Mycoge­nesis focuses on sensual, embodied, and relational knowledge and paves the way for a specu­la­tive future.

Pınar Yoldaş

An Ecosystem of Excess, 2014 – fortlau­fend
Instal­la­tion, 3D print, glass vases, water, water pumps, LED lights, acrylic, wood, color, and vinyl

Courtesy the artist

There are currently over 150 million tons of plastic in our oceans. Can new life forms emerge under these preca­rious condi­tions? Based on global overcon­sump­tion, Pınar Yoldaş has designed a posthuman ecosystem: the “plastis­phere.” Featuring creatures that metabo­lize plastic, Yoldaş’s work responds to the ecolo­gical disaster resulting from our consumer behavior.