Artengine is thrilled to present New Suns, an exhibition born from a groundbreaking collective worldbuilding lab. This project brought together an interdisciplinary group of eight artists to explore radical futures through art and speculative fiction, guided by renowned science fiction author Suyi Davies Okungbowa.
The New Suns lab was designed as a space for expansive, collaborative creation, emphasizing generosity, inclusivity, and wild imagination. Participants engaged in an intensive weekend of lectures, workshops, and discussions to collectively construct a shared world. From this shared foundation, each artist then developed individual works, offering diverse perspectives within a unified vision.
A core theme that emerged from this collaborative process is the reconstitution of the body and our physicality to embrace a plurality of species, fostering a more integrated, adaptive, and attuned relationship with the world. Artists grappled with concepts like the future of scientific outputs and their adaptation by society, moving beyond current technical limitations to explore widespread accessibility – even considering coin-operated 3D bioprinters for organoids and tissues in a future where these technologies are commonplace.
The exhibition also delves into fundamental aspects of human existence, such as food production and agriculture in speculative futures, pushing beyond traditional narratives to consider how communities might sustain themselves in radically reimagined worlds. One particularly imaginative concept explored is a group of people who have spliced their genetics with earthworms, forming sentient clusters that aerate soil for their crops at night, embodying a profound connection to their environment.
At its heart, New Suns champions the idea of utilizing existing knowledge and internal experiences to forge new connections between consciousness and imagination. The artists explore the sensory experience of living in these imagined futures, down to the minutia of daily life in a post-human or connected ecological framework.
Crucially, New Suns seeks to move beyond the limitations of dystopian narratives. The project embraces a radical optimism, dreaming beyond uninteresting violence and challenging us to consider the powerful role of speculative futurism in shaping our reality. The collective work envisions a future where power structures are transformed into systems of care and mutual aid, not out of obligation, but as the natural order of things. This radical idea explores ways of living together in collective well-being, offering visions that are neither purely utopian nor dystopian, but deeply profound in their potential for transformative change.
Come experience the imaginative possibilities of New Suns and witness how art and speculative fiction can serve as a powerful method for reimagining and reshaping our world.
Featured artists in the New Suns exhibition include: WhiteFeather Hunter, Seth Thomson, Emily Pelstring & Naomi Okabe, Kemi Craig, Eva Grant, Melanie Barnett, and Kriss Li, with a captivating soundscape by Ben Globerman.
A special inclusion of local artist Valérie Bélanger’s work Fungus Dreams, commissioned by Artengine in 2023.
Artist: Suyi Davies Okungbowa
Camera Operator: Ryan Stec
Editor: Ryan Stec
Subtitling: Claire Ferry Ried, Madeleine Merritt