Dyscorpia

Fascinating show looks at the intersection of technology and the human body.

by

The pace of technological advancement is exhilarating yet frightening. The sheer complexity of the smallest gadgets, like coffee makers or digital thermostats, can be exasperating.

Such cultural changes reach deep: one glance at a bus stop confirms people are now more likely to stare at a smartphone than engage another human being. Our interactions, even the boundaries of our bodies, are shifting. How do these changes affect us? And where will they lead?

These are some of the fascinating questions addressed by Dyscorpia: Future Intersections of the Body and Technology, on view until May 12 in Edmonton.

Several printmaking instructors at the University of Alberta organized this massive exhibition. Installed in the labyrinthine rooms at Enterprise Square, it includes 19 faculty members and local artists, six national or international artists, and students in disciplines as diverse as dance, philosophy and virtual reality.

But it’s not just the scale that’s impressive. Diverse media, exacting craftsmanship, top-notch knowhow in high-tech innovation and a stimulating breadth of vision make this one of Edmonton’s most captivating exhibitions in years. Moreover, the show has something for everyone.

For those interested in medical themes, there’s the Evolving Anatomies installation, inspired by Daniel Laforest’s research at the University of Alberta into the ways diagnostic imaging is shifting perceptions of our bodies. Two printmaking professors, Sean Caulfield and Marilène Oliver, created this work, with the added contribution of a water-inspired soundscape by Scott Smallwood.

Caulfield’s drawings, which refer to Andreas Vesalius, the 16th-century father of modern anatomy, are overlaid by Oliver’s videos of data from CT scans. Here, familiar historical perceptions of the body meet the mysterious workings of our invisible selves.

Wax arms and legs at the foot of the installation allude to the Catholic tradition of placing casts of ailing body parts at sacred sites such as Lourdes. The implicit question this work poses: Will it be faith or technology that heals us?

Under the Sun, a video installation by Edmonton’s aAron Munson, with electronic sound by Mark Pritchard, offers drama for viewers of all ages. But the visual impact of Munson’s floor-to-ceiling projection on a circular screen belies the subtle intricacies of his ideas.

The work’s mesmerizing bursts and flows are reminiscent of solar flares. But what seems like a macrocosm is, in fact, carbon ink, a reference to the constituent of all living beings, dissolved in various chemicals on a glass plate. The emotional effect verges on the religious – it evokes the cosmic beat of Shiva’s drum, the sound that causes the world to dance.

At the show’s heart is a short film series, EVE2050, by Quebec’s Isabelle Van Grimde. The theme, imagining the body in 2050 through dance, music and art, sparked this exhibition. It takes us on Eve’s epic journey, across vast landscapes and foreboding deserts, to an unimaginable future.

Like Eve, our own journey is fraught with both uncertainty and immense beauty. We can’t know what the future holds and this show doesn’t invent speculative answers. Instead, it offers a deep meditation on humanity’s hopes and fears in a rapidly changing world. ■

Dyscorpia: Future Intersections of the Body and Technology is on view at Enterprise Square in Edmonton from April 23 to May 12, 2019.

Galleries at Enterprise Square

10230 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4P6