In Search of the Present

In Search of the Present is a broad international exhibition of contemporary art that takes a profound look at our world, which is defined by technology. 

The exhibition explores the complex interactions between art, technology and nature. Its title, In Search of the Present, refers to an eponymous collection of essays (1929) by the Finnish author Olavi Paavolainen that examines the experiences and identities of modern people in a rapidly changing era. EMMA’s In Search of the Present is a series of exhibitions, the first of which took place in 2016.

Technology is sometimes seen as the opposite of nature and artificial intelligence as a threat to humanity. For the artists of this exhibition, however, technology is foremost an opportunity. Some of them collaborate with artificial intelligence to create an entirely new kind of art while others examine the need to develop systems that make artificial intelligence more equal, transparent and accessible.

The artists are interested in a new kind of coexistence between humans and nature that is not based on nature’s useful value. They look for new approaches to the major challenges people face today, such as the loss of biodiversity. Technology is used in the works of the exhibition to visualise things that can help people grasp the diversity of nature. Many of the artists draw the attention not only to artificial intelligence and its potential but also to other intelligences found in nature.

Artists in the exhibition: Refik Anadol, Dora Budor, Sougwen Chung, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Stephanie Dinkins, Agnieszka Kurant, Teemu Lehmusruusu, Brandon Lipchik, Rafael Lozano Hemmer, Sondra Perry, Jaakko Pietiläinen, Anna Ridler, Raimo Saarinen, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Jenna Sutela and Lu Yang.

The exhibition will feature the virtual-reality work Love Simulation EVE: Water Spirits by Eero Tiainen and the EVE work group, which is an independent part of a work that will be shown at the Espoo City Theatre in 2023.

EMMA

27.8.2022-15.1.2023

Admission fee 10/20€, under 18 and over 70 yrs free entry