How is technology changing our view of nature? The London-based artist collective Troika explores this question in the exhibition "Buenavista", which runs from 7. March to 21 April 2025 at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt. As in the last major exhibition at Hans Haacke, light plays a decisive role as a design element. The immersive installation combines new and existing works and addresses the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in a world in which human, animal and machine perception merge with one another.
Since their foundation in 2003, artists Eva Rucki, Conny Freyer and Sebastien Noel have been exploring the interfaces between technology and nature. Their works transcend the boundaries of sculpture, painting, film and installation. In Frankfurt, they present an immersive experience that examines the mechanisms behind our patterns of perception and questions how modern technologies shape our relationship with the environment.
Technology as a filter of perception
The exhibition depicts a world in which humans are no longer the only intelligent actors. In addition to human intelligence, there are also animal, plant and artificial intelligences that together form a new image of the environment and perception. How does our view of nature change when it is filtered through digital models and machine learning? What forms of life could emerge in this world mediated by algorithms?
Troika addresses these questions in large-format video works, installative sculptures and a multi-channel sound installation. "Buenavista" - the eponymous film - shows a continuously generated panoramic landscape in which a mysterious figure moves: a Kuka industrial robot with long brown hair. Its ritualistic rotational movements symbolise the restless search for the "beautiful view", which in today's world is often reduced to infinite scrolling through digital image worlds.
The sound installation "I Am a River", inspired by the mystical writings of the Persian poet Rumi, reinforces this dynamic. The sounds oscillate between intelligibility and acoustic abstraction - a mirror of the changing landscape that constantly eludes the human senses.
Human longing in the digital age
The installation "Anima Atman" challenges human perception in a subtle way. Movements of thistles, amplified by the flickering of LED light, make the plants appear alive and raise the question of whether our visual habits are deceiving us. The show is complemented by the series of paintings "Irma Watched Over by Machines", which is based on digital surveillance images of Hurricane Irma (2017). The natural disaster is depicted here in reduced colour codes - a cool, machine-like view of a deeply human drama.
Curator Dehlia Hannah describes the exhibition as a reflection on our changing relationship with the world: "In the past, you had to climb a mountain to enjoy a breathtaking view. Today, we scroll through streams of images that present us with nature as a backdrop, as a place of longing, but also as a disaster scenario. Troika invites us to reflect on this digitally mediated environment - and on our own role in it."
Sebastian Baden, Director of the Schirn Kunsthalle, emphasises the social relevance of the show: "Troika makes it possible to experience how our world is changing through technology. The exhibition confronts us with highly topical questions about artificial intelligence, digitalisation and our responsibility as human beings."
Between progress and loss of control
The works in "Buenavista" straddle the line between scientific analysis and speculative visions of the future. They ask whether artificial intelligence can free itself from the human paradigms of efficiency and optimisation - or whether it will reinforce them and thus further advance the ecological and social crises of our time.
The exhibition is sponsored by the Schirn Zeitgenossen, the Aventis Foundation and other partners.
Interested parties can visit the exhibition until 21 April 2025 at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.
