Agnieszka Kurant's 'Variantology' at Lia Rumma Napoli Blends Nature, AI, and Technology

Agnieszka Kurant's first solo exhibition at Lia Rumma gallery in Naples, titled 'Variantology,' explores the intersections of nature, artificial intelligence, and technology. The show presents works that challenge linear media history, drawing on Siegfried Zielinski's concept of 'variantology'—a non-progressive, stuttering evolution of media. Kurant collaborates with researcher Justin Lane to create an AI algorithm that generates alternative prehistoric signs in the 'Adjacent Possible' series. 'Chemical Garden' produces inorganic crystalline formations using liquid glass and metal salts, while 'Nonorganic Life' layers metal salt crystals on anodized aluminum. 'Post-Fordite' sculptures repurpose industrial Fordite from Detroit factories into hybrid rocks. 'Sentimentite' combines pulverized objects from various eras, with 100 digital NFT fragments circulating online. 'Semiotic Life' features a 62-year-old bonsai tree whose future growth is predicted by an AI algorithm, referencing the Japanese Zen concept of seishi. 'Risk Landscape' is a hologram simulating financial, political, and climatic events in Naples, developed with data scientists and game engines. 'Evolutions III' uses lenticular prints inspired by punch cards from Nils Aall Barricelli's early computers. The exhibition concludes with 'Air Rights,' levitating meteorites suspended in an electromagnetic field, symbolizing the fragility of technological systems. The show runs at Lia Rumma Napoli.