Agnieszka Kurant’s exhibition “Risk Landscape” at Mudam Luxembourg, curated by Sarah Beaumont, invites visitors to explore the concept of the future as a speculative element. The exhibition features five new projects and several recent pieces that delve into the unpredictable evolution of life, technology, and societal phenomena.
Kurant’s experimental works highlight the limitations of Artificial Intelligence in forecasting complex, nonlinear developments. She examines how the future is commodified by diverse industries, ranging from finance and insurance to lottery and fortune-telling, while envisioning alternative futures influenced by various worldviews.
The exhibition begins with the site-specific piece “Future (Invention)” situated in the glass corridor leading to the bright, glazed Henry J. and Erna D. Leir Pavilion. Kurant delves into the varied spatial interpretations of the future across different cultures, displaying the word ‘future’ in fourteen languages. These cultures envision the future as originating from behind, above, or below, contrasting sharply with Western perspectives that place the future ahead.
On the ground floor, Kurant explores the role of collective intelligence in shaping life forms, minerals, and socio-economic and ecological systems. Her sculptures titled “A.A.I. (System’s Negative)” are zinc casts of termite mound interiors, created through the collective efforts of millions of termites. “Chemical Garden” is a dynamic work where plant-like crystalline structures sprout from a mix of inorganic chemicals, evolving throughout the exhibition’s duration.
“Alien Internet” utilizes ferrofluid—a material originally designed for NASA in 1963—to simulate a constantly changing cybernetic organism. This digital-biological-geological system is controlled digitally within an electromagnetic field, its form influenced by the collective behavior and communication patterns of millions of digitally monitored animals worldwide.
“Post-Fordite” showcases a newly identified natural-artificial geological formation, birthed from the fossilization of car paint in abandoned auto factories. “Sentimentite” is an invented mineral, synthesized at a molecular level by Kurant from crushed objects that have served as informal and formal currencies throughout human history.
Lastly, the liquid-crystal painting “Conversions” dynamically reflects societal changes. The liquid crystals composing its painted surface evolve in color and form, reacting to data mined by AI algorithms from social media of protest movement members globally, reflecting their ideas and emotions about societal change and the future.
In her series titled “Conversions,” Kurant uses liquid crystal ink on a copper plate to explore the intersection of art and technology. This dynamic artwork reflects on the shifting perceptions of future economic values through human activities and interactions.
The exhibition “Risk Landscape” (2024), from which the series borrows its name, delves into financial risk management strategies. It features three holograms developed with the assistance of a data scientist and catastrophe modeling specialists, using Artificial Intelligence to simulate upcoming financial, political, and climate scenarios across various regions, including Luxembourg.
Downstairs in the pavilion, “Lottocracy” introduces a novel concept from political economy, suggesting that parliamentary elections be replaced by random selection or sortition. This installation, comprising a lotto machine, humorously and critically displays statistics such as the likelihood of an artist earning no income from their work, the odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery, or the risk of being struck by lightning.
Adjacent to this are the pieces “Risk Management” and “Quasi-Objects.” “Risk Management” maps out unexplained instances of irrational collective behavior throughout human history. Meanwhile, “Quasi-Objects” explores the development and flow of games globally, employing Artificial Intelligence to speculate on potential new games that might evolve.
The exhibition concludes with “Future Anterior” (2007), a fascinating installation that features a New York Times issue from June 2020, predicted by a professional clairvoyant in 2007. The newspaper, printed with thermochromic pigments, visually reacts to weather changes, with content that appears and disappears, making a profound statement on the transient and unpredictable nature of forecasting.
Kurant’s “Risk Landscape” at Mudam Luxembourg challenges the efficacy of simulations and projections in accurately foreseeing future scenarios. Her work raises critical questions about the tools and methodologies used to monitor, measure, and monetize daily existence and the natural world. Through her installations, she offers a profound critique of how contemporary technologies, while striving to map and shape the future, often fall short of capturing the full spectrum of possibilities that the future holds.
