Art can be a reflection of how we see the world; it can also open our eyes to new ways of seeing. The Barbican’s new exhibition Our Time on Earth aims to walk you through this shift in consciousness physically, starting with the idea of Belonging, moving through Imagining, before you Engage. Intrigued? That’s step one.
Our Time on Earth wants to transform the conversation around the impending climate emergency through art by encouraging visitors to take an active role in the exhibition. You’ll enter into Sanctuary of the Unseen Forest by digital art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast, an immersive video installation offering a window into “tree time”. After contemplating humanity’s role as just one species among millions, it’s on to IMAGINE, presenting alternative value systems, with installations from Superflux; Brazilian intersectional Indigenous-led collective Selvagem; Symbiocene; Institute of Digital Fashion; environmental activist George Monbiot, and more. Revved up with possibility (think creative potential, not cars!) ENGAGE offers ways to get involved with creating this new utopia. Don’t miss Sonic Waterfall, the sound and light installation by Silent Studios inspired by their work with Damon Albarn on his solo album The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows.
The exhibition will take over the whole centre, with free interactive and digital exhibits presented in the Barbican’s public spaces and live events set to be announced. Running until the end of August, why not drop in as an escape from that unseasonably warm summer sun… Will you leave feeling inspired to make a change?
