Collecting Europe
How might our present be viewed from the future?

What does Europe mean as an idea and how might our present situation be viewed from the future? These questions are not new: Europe’s history has always been characterised by shifting boundaries, political and economic upheaval, migration and the displacement of people. With this in mind, we have asked 12 artists to imagine themselves in the year 4017, looking back and making sense of where we are now. The installations will go on display throughout the V&A from 1 - 7 February 2017 as part of the week-long festival, Collecting Europe. Here you can read what the artists expect from Europe in 4017.
 

IF&00

Photo: IF00 Our contribution, Europa, asks people 'If we were to reinvent our democratic institutions for a digital age, what would they look like?' We imagine a future in which digital institutions can transcend borders in the same way that digital corporations already do […] Our governments and institutions were designed for a different industrial age. Unless they reform fast, they will become increasingly obsolete. They will find themselves trying to govern a world that runs in code, armed only with a pencil.

Tasha Marks, AVM Curiosities

Photo: Philip Sinden courtesy of Grey Goose I hope Collecting Europe will provoke debate about the future of Europe, asking people to question the artistic legacy that Europe both inspires and contains.

Raqs Media Collective

Photo: Srinivas Kuruganti We understood the invitation as a playful engagement with Europe, less burdened with weights of present conundrums, definitions, and anxieties, and more with possibilities of latent energies performed with laughter.

Constant Dullaart

Photo: Karolina Spolniewski I approached the project by asking: How would the biggest data companies in the world and the newest visual data analysis techniques look at a complicated concept like European culture?

Fru*Fru

Photo: Fru*Fru We have conceived a future culture for Europe and Asia in 4017: the Eurasic Kingdom. A space with no boundaries, neither territorial nor political, where the classic dichotomies will disappear: animal/mechanical, natural/artificial, masculine/feminine, public/private will no longer make sense in Eurasia.