cadavre exquis: an anatomy of utopia. london design biennale.
this september, london will host the city’s first design biennale. among these exhibits, culture.pl will showcase a unique and imaginative concept conceived and curated by maria jeglinska and klara czerniewska for the polish pavilion.
created especially for the biennale, jeglinska and czerniewska’s installation questions how the 21st century creates space for new utopias as it reflects on the numerous crises and failures of modernist social, political and urban projects from the previous century. borrowing from the form of the surrealist word association game, the exquisite corpse, it invites the viewer to act as a co-creator of a proposed narrative. by assuming the role of the wanderer, visitors will face the choice between their own path towards an idyllic utopia or a disturbing dystopia. whether their vision will be positive or negative will be up to them. the journey examines questions relevant to the current era and the collective search for a new utopia. does the age of diversity allow space for idealist uniformity and totality? how can utopia be designed? is it possible to devise an algorithm to generate a utopian future? come explore and see where the cadavre exquis leads you.
the exhibit will be open at somerset house from the 7th – 27th of september.