The future used to be better
How contemporary art reflects our waning belief in progress.
he Dutch artist Daan Samson has created a series of art installations he calls “prosperity biotopes”. These works are made in various mediums but share a common thread: The seemingly incongruous pairing of pristine nature and modern technology.
At his exhibition in Amsterdam, I spotted ants scuttling on an ant plant alongside a sleek steel Nespresso milk frother. It reminded me of the enigmatic black monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then there was a drawing on the wall showing a shiny electric dream car from Mercedes-Benz created by the African American designer Virgil Abloh, parked diagonally on a wild Bolivian salt flat, and flanked by sturdy cacti.
As an unabashed nuclear bro, however, I have to say my favourite prosperity biotope showcased a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) from Rolls-Royce nestled right in the heart of the Congo Basin rainforest. Its sleek, hulking form resembles a steel caterpillar, its glistening scales half-buried in the earth, like a metallic version of the giant sandworms from Frank Herbert's Dune. It's the kind of utopian vision you often find in ecomodernist circles: High-density human tech—a single SMR cranks out more energy than dozens of square kilometres of solar panels—surrounded by pristine natural beauty.
By fusing the natural and the artificial, Samson invites us to think about the relationship between civilization and wilderness. Do we really have to choose between the splendor of untouched nature and cutting-edge technology, between majestic redwoods and towering skyscrapers? Or can we have our cake and eat it too?
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