ICC
Anonymous Life
Anonymous: Not identified by name; of unknown name. The term is composed of the Greek word onyma (name) and the prefix an- (without), to mean "without a name." Each work in this exhibition, however, does have a name (title), so this is not a show of "anonymous" works. What does the title refer to then?
For example, specialists in one particular field of robot engineering, encouraged by technological developments, are aiming to create "mechanical life." However, most results of their efforts are different from the ideal androids we have been dreaming up in the realm of science, and should perhaps rather be referred to as "unnameable." Rapidly progressing biotechnology, cloning and other reproductive medical technologies as typified by gene manipulation have made new, as yet unlabeled forms of "life" a reality before we even had a chance to understand their essence.
Inspired by such nameless life-forms; such creatures that don't reveal their real names; in short, such "anonymous life," this exhibition introduces works that question the supposedly self-evident meaning of "life" as separating man from machine, while discussing issues of sexuality and identity that the advancement of technology has cast in a whole new light, and other instances of fluctuating and transgressing all sorts of boundaries our society is riddled with.
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