Earthwise

The second edition of Beijing Art and Technology Biennale (BATB) opens to the public from October 26, 2024 to February 23, 2025. With its theme Earthwise, this edition is curated by Fei Jun and Naiyi Wang, and invites 50 artists and scientists from around the globe to reconsider multiple forms of intelligence, animals, plants, machines, planetary intelligence, etc.

What does it mean to be intelligent? Earthwise aims to break human-centric notions of intelligence, and comprises a selection of provocative works that ruminate on notions of intelligence, offering new perspectives that have extended to large-scale processes, including natural systems and planetary systems. Thomas Feuerstein believes that “intelligence” today means rethinking the differences and boundaries between Us and The Other. In his installation METABOLICA-HYDRA, the narrative actors are algae and bacteria, and these non-human actors host an ancient intelligence that can certainly be described as “Earthwise.” A call for a return to the non-anthropocentrism of egalitarian ecological relations can be found in Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau’s Eau de Jardin, which creates an inductive installation that contemplates interconnectedness between humans and plants.

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s Alienarium connects our encounters with other alien beings, which inspires us to think about how we might relate to one another when untethered from our physical forms. Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet (AATB) highlights the inextricable entanglement between human perception and cosmic phenomena, A Particular Score III reveals our planetary situation and encourages us to re-evaluate our connection to the universe.

Earthwise features two newly commissioned works that the Biennale has handed to Oscar winner Tim Yip and Chinese new media artist Wang Zhigang. Building upon this expansive definition of intelligence, it also collaborates with institutions and labs, such as Critical Media Lab, ETH AI Center and Art of Hybrid Intelligence Lab, and unfolds through a series of new commissions, including Nolan Oswald Dennis’ sound installation Superpositions, which is composed from geosonic data, a techno-poetic reflection on our relationship to land, deep time, and planetary interconnection.

“The Biennale presents a plurality of voices which are perfect platforms to explore the entanglement of different forms of intelligence,” says curator Naiyi Wang. “Earthwise as a metaphor, which aims to expand the notion of “intelligence” from different perspectives, making us aware of the other intelligences that have been with us all along.”

Participants (in alphabetical order):
Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet (AATB), Art of Hybrid Intelligence Lab, Azusa Murakami & Alexander Groves (A.A.Murakami), Chen Wenling, Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau, Climate Clock, Critical Media Lab, David Colombini & Laura Nieder & Marc Dubois (Fragmentin), Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, ETH AI Center, Gary Hill, Ifor Duncan, Janis Polar, Janiv Oron, Juliane Götz & Sebastian Neitsch (Quadrature), Nolan Oswald Dennis, Oliver Ressler, Solveig Suess, Tekla Aslanishvilli, Thomas Feuerstein, Tim Yip, Tobias Klein, Uwe Rieger & Yinan Liu (arc/sec Lab), Wang Zhigang

About BATB
Beijing Art and Technology Biennale (BATB) is the world’s first biennial dedicated to the intersection of art, science and technology, which aims to be an international platform for a broad range of practitioners from the fields of art, science and technology, and to support new artistic engagements and interventions in the context of advanced technologies, such as emerging biotechnologies, life sciences, astrobiology, etc. BATB manifests through exhibitions, commissions, public programmes, publications, and symposiums, as well as structural and systemic initiatives, bringing together practitioners from the fields of art, science, and climatology, among many others.

Since its inception, BATB has become one of the most thought-provoking art events, and played an indispensable role in China’s engagement with the world. Directed by curator Naiyi Wang, each edition brings together the most influential artists, scientists, theorists, curators, activists, technologists, developers and entrepreneurs from all over the world. It is founded with the mission of exploring new ideas in art, science and technology. Through interdisciplinary connections, BATB aims to address the central questions of our future, and create long-lasting effects on our society.

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