A Gateway to Possible Worlds: Art & Science Fiction

The exhibition at Pompidou-Metz in France, 'A Gateway to Possible Worlds – Art & Science Fiction is informed by the world of SF, guiding critical reflection around subjects such as alienation, trans-/post-humanism, the breaking of gender boundaries, colonialism, social fragmentation, ultra-capitalism, new forms of panopticism and totalitarianism, ecological disaster and human obsolescence. Bringing together in the 2,300m2 space of the museum, 150 artworks from the late 1960s to the present explore the place of mankind in the world and his choices. In a time when the need for another world is becoming more and more urgent, a time that is seeing the emergence of a "liquid" form of modernity, in which our convictions are crumbling, accelerating our discoveries and their subsequent obsolescence, the exhibition will look at the connections between imagined worlds and reality, with the input of writers and visual artists, as well as architects and filmmakers. The exhibiting artists consciously aim to revitalise and re-appropriate our vision of the future.

Three important sculptures and installations by Lucy Orta (Studio Orta) were presented.

'Connector Mobile Village' is a utopian architectural structure, which envisions new modes of habitation with mobile and modular potential. The village made entirely in textiles connects individual personalised bivouacs (sleeping bags) into a system of linear modules and nodes, which are silkscreen printed. The flexibility of the structure gives individuals the right to exert their freedom of choice, by connecting to or disconnecting and reconfiguring into a multitude of formations.

'Antarctic Village - No Borders' is a monumental installation of 25 dome dwellings each 180cm diameter, constructed with textile materials, each hand stitched with sections of flags from countries around the world, along with extensions of clothes and gloves, symbolising the multiplicity and diversity of people. The work was first installed in Antarctica (2007), a symbolic action that claimed the rights to Antarctica for people who are displaced due to political, economic of climate catastrophes.

Adjacent to the installation of domes is 'Antarctica World Passport Office', a sculptural assemblage resembling a make-shift passport office from which audiences can collect their copy of Antarctica World Passport, and become a member of an online world community uniting people, from across the world who are acting against social and environmental injustices.

• https://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/en/pr...
• https://www.studio-orta.com/en/artwork/4...
• https://www.studio-orta.com/en/artworks/...
• https://www.studio-orta.com/en/artwork/1...
• https://www.studio-orta.com/en/artworks/...
• http://www.antarcticaworldpassport.com/e...