Ephemeral Realities

Curated by Raina Marie & Whitney Hart

Exhibited at the Rare Evo Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

August 5th - 17th, 2024

Ephemeral Realities presents generative and software-based artworks that focus on how technology’s rapid acceleration is impacting all aspects of our lives – from the environment to our bodies to mass communication. It has the power to transform physical forms and metaphysical perspectives. Artists are utilizing new technologies in response to ecological concerns and the existential threat of climate change – arguably the most important issue of our time. 

The warnings have been dire: global warming will incinerate life forms on Planet Earth. Every year, new threatening statistics are released by countless global agencies about humanity’s failure to counteract global warming and climate change. Yet these numbers often fail to resonate with the general public. Can humans fully comprehend the computational power needed for a new way of life and the omniscience of AI? These digital artworks visually convey these conflicting sentiments while showcasing the artists’ imagination and biophilic sensibilities. They challenge and reimagine our experiences with art, poetry, and nature.

Artists are using the artistic tools of our time – software, code, AI, and blockchain – to reflect on this moment of crisis and turn confusion and anxiety into understanding and action. By using cutting-edge technologies, imagination, and the artist's biophilia, these artworks portray objective truths and philosophical issues that we, as a society, must grapple with. Yet they point to a glimmer of hope: the same tools of destruction may also be a catalyst for change and, perhaps, the remedy.

Featuring work by Refik Anadol, Entangled Others, john gerrard, Zhang Huan, Garrett Kane, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, and Sasha Stiles.