, La Mécanique Générale, LUMA, Arles
Danish artist Jakob Steensen presents his 2021 multiplayer VR installation Liminal Lands, powered by VIVE Arts, at LUMA Arles in France in the exhibition Prélude. Prélude examines the complexities of time and space across diverse ecologies. It is organized by Director of Exhibitions and Programs Vassilis Oikonomopoulos and features the works of artists Sophia Al Maria, Kapwani Kiwanga, P. Staff, and Jakob Kudsk Steensen. Steensen continues his exploration of VR artworks following earlier examples such as his 2019 work The Deep Listener.
Interested in environmental storytelling, Steensen reconstructs the landscape of the salt plains of Salin-de-Giraud in the famed Camargue wetlands from photographs in this new work Liminal Lands. It is a lyrical recreation of nature’s symbiotic processes - of the soil, the water and the sky - independent of human beings. Steensen’s keen observation of the living world unfold in a series of non-linear micro-scale events, where the viewers delve into the existence of a feather or algae, rich in images and sounds that can be experienced through multiplayer interactive VR. This new installation was developed during Steensen’s residency with LUMA Arles. Liminal Lands can be experienced in the exhibition until November 2021.
“Steensen approached the unique natural environment of the wetlands as a multidimensional reality, home to numerous organisms and lifeforms,” states LUMA. Exploring new technologies on ancient lands bring about exciting and challenging possibilities to the understanding of ecology.