ENNOVA Art Biennale: Multiple futures – New visions of our life

The first ENNOVA Art Biennale will open on October 26th, 2024, and will be open to the public on October 27. This Biennial is hosted by the ENNOVA Art Museum, with internationally renowned curator and art critic Fumio Nanjo as the chief curator. The curatorial research team consists of scholars such as Miwa Kutsuna, Andrea Del Guercio, Hatanaka Minoru, and Qilan Shen, to present an international-influential contemporary art feast.

ENNOVA Art Biennale has a grand scale, gathering 91 internationally famous artists from 24 countries worldwide. Nearly 100 artworks will stretch across the five exhibition halls from east to west and the public spaces of the ENNOVA Art Museum, presenting an astonishing display in an exhibition area of over 20,000 square meters. This Biennale promises to be a landmark event for Chinese contemporary art. Unprecedented sensory experiences and artistic spectacles will await the domestic art industry and will undoubtedly captivate the international art world.

The first ENNOVA Art Biennale had the theme of “Multiple futures – New visions of our life” exploring the essence of contemporary art and creativity. Modern humanity is facing a series of diverse and global social issues. Those challenges cannot be resolved unless we think differently from conventional ways and examine humanity from a broader perspective, based on which we shall explore possible solutions.

The solution is not simply about reverting to ancient ways of life; rather, it leans on proactively embracing and leveraging new scientific and technological advancements. Creativity lies at the heart of these technologies and equally in arts, that allows humanity to break free, transcending disciplinary boundaries, and envisioning innovative solutions that are entirely new.

The latest scientific technologies are being deployed by artists in contemporary art-making. the relationship between art and science have become intimate. This Biennale ventures to explore the changing art scenes today, categorized into four chapters : Expansion on Sounds and Voices, Creation on the Borders, Future of Environment, and Post-Anthropocene.

Chapter 1: Expansion on Sounds and Voices

In the first chapter, the focus is on “sound” as a material for artistic expression. From the mid-20th century, using sound as a material for artistic expression has become common. In performance art after the Second World War, sound as a critical element had already attained its unique position. John Cage’s series of works are particularly memorable in this period of time. His famous work 4’33’’ is known for being completely silent when Cage sat in front of the piano, showing the extreme of sound in a performance.

Presently, sound in artistic expressions has appeared to be ubiquitous in various forms, from sounds emitted by the human body (i.e.,voice) to those in nature, from machines, and digital audio generated by computers.

At this Biennale, the video works of Carsten Nicolai and Krsn Brasko will demonstrate the combination of computer graphics and electronic music. The “Expansion on Sounds and Voices” chapter will showcase the works by 30 artists (28 groups), whose works will jointly explore the boundless possibilities of sound in contemporary art.

Chapter 2: Creation on the Borders

Human creative thinking frequently crosses these boundaries and merges with different fields, giving rise to entirely new perspectives. —The dialogues and debates between different fields can inspire new ideas and reveal the unknown world to us. The interplay of art with fashion, architecture, photography, design, philosophy, music, taste, and tacticity creates new forms of expression and narrative. The second chapter introduces creations on these “borders.”

This chapter will showcase the works of 13 artists (12 groups) who have integrated different fields of creation. Among them, Patrick Tresset’s work “Human Study #2” explores the integration of artificial intelligence and painting art through a robotic installation. Jiayu Liu’s work “Celestial Descendant (2024)” utilizes AI to reproduce the complexity and randomness of natural phenomena like wind and water flow. Aoyama Shuhei explores the relationship between human senses and environmental cognition by creating spaces that can only be perceived through touch, sound, and smell. These works will demonstrate the breakthroughs and reconstructions of the “boundaries” among different fields in contemporary art.

Chapter 3: Future of Environment

Chapter Three delves into the close connection between creativity and contemporary global issues, with a special focus on human sustainability, environmental and ecological problems, as well as fields like biotechnology and robotics. From global warming to urban waste issues. In the realm of art, many works use discarded materials to warn of environmental crises, raise public awareness by focusing on endangered species, and forecast the future of Earth’s environment through artistic expressions. The integration of art with other fields has brought new perspectives—artworks using recyclable and renewable materials not only showcase the coexistence of art and the environment but also stimulates deeper reflection on environmental issues and sustainable development among the audience.

The works selected for display in this chapter include Zadok Ben-David’s ground installation artwork “Blackfield,” consisting of over 30,000 steel engraved flowers, which explores the life and death of nature. Luke Jerram’s installation artwork “Gaia,” which presents a 10-meter diameter spherical surface of Earth’s surface image provided by NASA at a resolution of 120dpi.

The artworks selected in this chapter not only present the artists’ profound insights into these issues but also reflect their exploration and contemplation of solutions. These works demonstrate to the audience how creativity can bridge the gap between art and reality, providing inspiration and direction for solving global issues.

Chapter 4: Post-Anthropocene

The final chapter introduces a variety of realities and worldviews about the future depicted by art. Much of the future of humanity is likely to be greatly changed by science and technology developed by humans.

The advancement of technology has unveiled a world we have never seen before and broadened our perspective of observing the micro and macro worlds. In the field of art, many works also deal with these deep-seated issues closely related to human existence.

The fourth chapter will exhibit 28 groups of works by 32 artists（28 groups）. These works not only carry the vision for the future but also reflect the profound thinking of the artists about the future of humanity.

Contemplating the roots of creativity, its changes, and the new futures it offers humans is what will ultimately provide new answers to our most fundamental questions, as posed by Paul Gauguin: “Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?” These are the questions that underlie this Biennale.