Survival of the Fittest: Nature and High Tech in Contemporary Art at Kunstpalais Erlangen

The group exhibition 'Survival of the Fittest. Nature and High Tech in Contemporary Art' has opened at Kunstpalais in Erlangen, Germany, running until May 24, 2020. Curated by Milena Mercer, the show explores the relationship between nature and technology in the context of environmental protection and climate change. Mercer emphasizes that the exhibition does not aim to deliver a single narrative or solve environmental problems—that is left to science. Instead, it functions as a discursive field where artworks serve as cornerstones that may be close or distant from each other. The curator hopes visitors will feel more empowered to form their own opinions, using the German concept of 'agency.' Ten works are on display, six of which were created by 'multi-ethnic' collectives, reflecting the transnational nature of tech-savvy artists. Mercer notes that artists have always evolved with new media, from VR and AR to drones and supercomputers, and sees no risk of technology weakening creative impulses. She discovered artists through art fairs, biennials, studio visits, and social media like Instagram. The exhibition includes works such as Simon Denny's 'Caterpillar Biometric worker fatigue monitoring smartband Extractor pop display' (2019), courtesy of the artist and Galerie Buchholz.