Human+: The future of our species

APT artist Julijonas Urbonas is participating the Group show HUMAN+ The future of our species

Cyborgs, superhumans and clones. Evolution or extinction? What does it mean to be a human today? What will it feel like to be a human a hundred years from now? Technological capabilities are increasing at a rapid pace—should we continue to embrace modifications to our minds, bodies and daily lives, or are there boundaries we shouldn’t overstep?

This exhibition explores potential future trajectories of our species by considering both historical and emerging technologies, as well as their cultural and ethical contexts. What does it mean to be human today? From Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to human digital remains, our lives are mediated and defined by our tools and scientific discoveries. However, this exhibition is not a blind celebration of technology, but is intended to present a range of imagined and real possibilities, allowing visitors to make up their own mind about the preferred future of the human species.

The exhibition explores the boundaries of what it means to be human—boundaries of the body, boundaries of the species, boundaries of what is socially and ethically acceptable. Should we enhance ourselves, or seek to modify our descendants? Are we approaching a singularity of human-machine hybridization or de-skilling ourselves through our ever-increasing reliance on technological extensions of the body? Is extended human longevity a wonderful aspiration or a dire prospect for the planet?