The confluence of consciousness and technology has reached a point, where we are able to perceive and create our world simultaneously, thus making it possible to for us to participate in the creation of the reality that we live in. It has become increasingly crucial to question the authenticity of reality, as well as our perception and description of it. The notion that reality, and to a greater extent, truth, is debatable and can be manipulated and altered, has become an imminent threat to democracy and our very existence.
Qian Ma’s “May the Bridges We Burn Light the Way” is set against mankind’s current commitment to a technological revolution and a speculative future that we are unprepared for and have no total control of. The work consists of two different, out of sync video projections. Instead of a single, double-sided screen, the two narratives meet in the middle on layers of floating, translucent surfaces, where the light and imagery from the other side colludes with the one in front of the viewer. The “screen” is thus expanded and now possesses a volume, where boundaries between the past and the future, the real and the artificial, all become blurred. We are now on an irreversible path to the most profound existential crisis we’ve ever faced. It is just as dark ahead of us as it is in the distance behind. Let’s hope something will point us in the right direction.
Born in 1984, grew up in Asia, Europe and Texas, Qian Ma’s practice combines film, photography, and installation. Taking inspiration from subjects as varied as literature, history, cinema, philosophy, quantum science, and the banality of daily life, Ma’s work reconsiders the understanding of consciousness and poses new existential questions.
The series of exhibitions for 2017/18 at StudioRCA Riverlight curated by A- – -Z will explore displacement & otherness – presenting studies of deconstruction of pre-conceived/imperialist knowledge, often through the scope of science fiction, with a selection of solo exhibitions.
www.rca.ac.uk/schools/school-
www.abc-z.org
Address:
Unit F1 | 1 Riverlight Quay | Nine Elms Lane |
London | SW8 5AU
Nearest train/tube:
Vauxhall/ Battersea Park Station
Start date: 12/09/2017
End date: 20/09/2017
