Speculative Cultures: A Virtual Reality Exhibition

Curated by Tina Sauerlaender, Peggy Schoenegge, and Erandy Vergara, the exhibition reflected on how the new tools of the digital age offer new possibilities for cultures to exist, evolve, and consolidate. Virtual Reality allows artists to speculate about new manifestations of cultural expressions within the conditions of the digital realm. Independent of physical surroundings, new spaces spring into existence.

The artists in this exhibition engaged with their personal experiences, memories, and cultural heritage in order to reflect on today’s social coexistence. Morehshin Allahyari reflected on post-colonialism by exploring meanings of myths of Middle-Eastern origin. Scott Benesiinaabandan created a futuristic setting based on a story of the indigenous Anishinabe peoples. Matias Brunacci developed an interactive, technology-based shamanistic journey. Yu Hong referred back to Chinese history and her families’ life stories. Francois Knoetze combined present and future, as well as representations and fictional visions of South Africa. Erin Ko and Jamie Martinez created a journey to the afterlife inspired by the Egyptian Book of the Dead.