Imagining Disaster: Science Fiction X Contemporary Art
THURS 2 SEPT / 6.30 PM / TWITCH / BOOK HERE
Science Fiction has existed as a recognised genre for more than a century. Its emergence, broadly depending on which writer of which story you believe truly marks SF’s origins, runs roughly in parallel with the birth of cinema. From Georges Melies’ fanciful A Trip to the Moon (1902) to Stanley Kubrick’s masterful 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) it has, and continues to, inspire imaginations and audiences to this day.
In turn, Imagining Disaster: Contemporary Art X Science Fiction, is inspired by the genre many of us fell in love with when we were children – via films like Star Wars (1977) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Its other departure point is Susan Sontag’s 1965 essay The Imagination of disaster, in which the critic states: “Science fiction films are not about science. They are about disaster, which is one of the oldest subjects of art.” Earlier in the decade, Chris Marker’s ‘photo-novel’ La Jetée (1962) – with its post-apocalyptic time travel narrative – had demonstrated just that (and so much more besides).
In recent years, contemporary artists including, but by no means limited to, Keith Piper, Larissa Sansour, and Larry Achiampong have increasingly borrowed from, leaned into, and otherwise employed the science fiction playbook in their work. Why would this be, and why now? Or perhaps the better question would be: what took visual artists so long?
To help provide some of the answers, join us in exploring and addressing these questions and more, in the form of new writing, conversations, and digital takeovers. Our programme will feature artists, writers, academics and – most importantly – fans of science fiction, all prompted by the brimming possibilities offered by this once niche, sometimes ghettoised genre.
Image: from The World After, David Blandy 2019
Illustration by Wumi Olaosebikan
Read a series of blogs by: Stephanie Bailey, Prof. Roger Luckhurst, Dr. Glyn Morgan and Mike Pinnington.
Tune into an online conversation in which the panel discussion with Mike Pinnington, David Blandy, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Basma Ghalayini will discuss the potential of science fiction in the visual arts and further afield.
Imagining Disaster: Contemporary Art X Science Fiction investigates what it is about science fiction – be it in the form of Afrofuturism, dystopia, post-apocalyptic or posthumanism – that inspires and allows us to communicate ideas so eloquently and vividly.
Produced by Mike Pinnington
David Blandy
David Blandy (1976, Lives & works in Brighton & London) has established his terrain through a series of investigations into the cultural forces that inform and influence him, in recent works examining human consciousness within the digital world. Collaboration is central to his practice, examining communal and personal heritage and interdependence. He has developed a gaming art practice writing original RPG’s, examining social justice, climate change and posthuman futures. His works comprise of complex installations, performance, writing, gaming and sound.
Nominated for the Film London Jarman award with Larry Achiampong in 2018. He has exhibited & performed at venues nationally and worldwide such as Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea; Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge; Art Tower Mito, Tokyo; Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum, Helsinki; Tate Modern, London; The Baltic, Gateshead; Turner Contemporary, Margate; Spike Island, Bristol; Künstlerhaus Stuttgart, Germany; MoMA PS1, New York.
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki
Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an African speculative fiction writer and editor from Nigeria, with a background in Law. He won the 2019 Nommo award for best short story by an African, was longlisted for the 2020 Nommo award, and awarded the 2020 Horror Writers Association diversity grant. He has been a finalist in the Nebula, Locus, British Science Fiction, British Fantasy, Sturgeon, Nommo and This is Horror awards.
Basma Ghalayini
Basma Ghalayini is an Arabic translator and interpreter and has previously translated short fiction from the Arabic for the KFW Stifflung series, Beirut Short Stories, published on addastories.org, and Comma projects, such as Banthology and The Book of Cairo (edited by Raph Cormack). She is the editor of Palestine +100, the first anthology of science fiction from Palestine ever collected.
Mike Pinnington
Mike Pinnington is a writer and editor based in Liverpool. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of visual arts and cultural commentary publication, The Double Negative. His writing has appeared in international publications, including The Art Newspaper, Art Quarterly, ArtReview, Ocula and byNWR, amongst others. He is currently writing a book about Science Fiction and Contemporary Art.