Trends notebook #2
Biennial
Two artists under the waves
For the 2024 edition of the Venice Biennale, French artists Julien Creuzet and Josèfa Ntjam (above) are taking visitors below the waterline. In the French Pavilion of the Giardini, Julien Creuzet is leading visitors on a dive into a unique olfactory, poetic and musical environment, inside an underwater garden made of sculptures, suspensions and computer-generated images, evoking the Caribbean but also the lagoon of Venice. Josèfa Ntjam, for her part, placed a gigantic blue monolith in the courtyard of the Accademia di Belle Arti museum. After entering, we can contemplate a universe at the junction of Dogon civilization and Science Fiction, where plankton and other forms of life move to the rhythm of a soundscape composed by Fatima al Qadiri.
© Revival Bionics ; Getty Images ; Josèfa Ntjam- ADAGP, Paris, 2024. Photographer: Andrea Rossetti; Jacob King/PA Wire/abacapress.com; AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez/sipa
Artificial intelligence
Time for specialisation
The year 2024 marks a decisive turning point in the world of AI, with the era of AI specialisation now upon us. Artificial intelligence is now establishing itself in specific sectors, offering personalised and above all, sector-specific solutions. The parent company of Facebook, Meta is particularly focussing on this development by launching 28 specific-purpose bots instead of a single competitor for ChatGPT. There will therefore be, among others, Coco for dancing, Victor for sports training or even Max for cooking. This development could represent a boon for specific industries, from health to finance, optimising processes and paving the way for unprecedented innovations.
A bumper catch
The Ocean Cleanup association has not stopped innovating
The non-profit organisation The Ocean Cleanup has taken a new step forward in the fight against marine pollution. And with good reason: the project has recovered an unprecedented 10 million kilograms of rubbish, equivalent to the weight of the Eiffel Tower, from across the world’s oceans and river-ways. Not content with that, The Ocean Cleanup is also aiming to clean up the infamous Great Pacific Garbage Patch, eliminating as much plastic as possible from the oceans, and helping stop the flow of waste from the world’s most polluting rivers. The organisation is also tackling the recycling of collected plastic, transforming an environmental threat into resources. Supported by Societe Generale, The Ocean Cleanup embodies hopes of a clean future for our seas, combining technology and environmental commitment for a global impact.
Diary
KANDINSKY, MÜNTER AND DER BLAUE REITER (BLUE HORSEMAN) IN LONDON
A look back at the movement, born in Munich in 1911, which transformed modern art.
Until 20 October at Tate Modern.
SPOTTING UNICORNS AT THE PERTH MUSEUM
The exhibition traces two thousand years of the history and representation of the mythical creatures—also used as an emblem of Scotland—and its evolution into a symbol of diversity and resilience.
Until 22 September.
THE 2024 PHOTOGRAPHIC ENCOUNTERS IN ARLES festival, entitled Under the Surface, is presenting a snapshot of worldwide contemporary photography at more than thirty locations across the city.
From 1 July to 29 September.
The object
First glasses, now hop on a flying carpet and explore virtual reality
On 18 January, Disney unveiled a new virtual reality carpet called Holotile. This is made up of a multitude of small rotating round tiles which allow the user to move in all directions. Enough to imagine yourself as a hero of Ready Player One, the film by Steven Spielberg and Disney.
In the constellation of artworks circulating on the market, what do we mean when we talk about “Old Masters” in relation...
Interview by Laurent Issaurat. Nathalie Obadia is a gallery owner specializing in contemporary art, with galleries in...
Interview by Laurent Issaurat, Head of Art Banking at Société Générale Private Banking, with Nathalie Obadia,...
Interview by Laurent Issaurat, Head of Art Banking at Societe Generale Private Banking, with Nathalie Obadia,...
The 2023 French wine futures campaign — Bordeaux En Primeurs 2023 — held in late April 2024, presented a vintage...