Ascending from the Liquid Horizon

On October 21, the exhibition Ascending from the Liquid Horizon opens at le lieu unique in Nantes in collaboration with the Kumu Art Museum in Tallinn. The exhibition is curated by Kati Ilves and includes works by Sol Archer, Joey Holder, Katja Novitskova, Kristina Õllek, Norman Orro, Anni Puolakka and Jaakko Pallasvuo, Laura Põld, Nicholas Riis, Taavi Suisalu, Vello Vinn, Simon Wald-Lasowski, and Guan Xiao.

Ascending from the Liquid Horizon focuses on the possibilities and potentials once proposed by speculative narratives about the future, and reflects on the realm that is currently emerging from the intersection of science, corporate interests, and ecology. Vast developments in technology, advancing hand in hand with rapid climate change, predict a situation far more complex than the current one, defined by an environment where technology levels nature and notions of the biological, natural and terrestrial need to be revised.

Taking place in the hometown of Jules Verne, the exhibition looks closely at the once speculative narratives which have, by now, dissolved into tangible or daily practices. Adapted and appropriated by technocratic global enterprises, many of those visions have seen a rebirth in the rapidly developing labour and market conditions. The exhibited works address this transformative moment from a somewhat ambivalent angle, enabling us to map the core of this rising new realm.

The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated book of the same name co-published with CURA.BOOKS., including essays by Patrick Gyger, Bas Hendrikx, Kati Ilves, and Jaak Tomberg, as well as a short story by Nat Muller, designed by Ott Metusala.

Ascending from the Liquid Horizon is a collaborative project between le lieu unique in Nantes and Kumu Art Museum in Tallinn. The exhibition is part of the international programme of festivities organised in honor of the centennial of the Republic of Estonia, consisting of more than one hundred events across the world. More information on the centennial programme can be found on the web page www.ev100.ee.