"Future and the Arts: AI, Robots, Cities, Life—How Will Humans Live Tomorrow?" opened at the Mori Art Museum on November 19th. The exhibition runs through March 29th.


The Mori Art Museum has previously organized cross-genre thematic exhibitions combining contemporary art with historical and scientific materials. "Future and the Arts" marks the third such exhibition, following "Medicine and the Arts" and "Space and the Arts." This time, the scope of the exhibition expands even further, exploring near-future cities, environmental issues, lifestyles, society, and the state of humanity through cutting-edge technologies such as AI, biotechnology, robotics, and augmented reality (AR), as well as the art, design, and architecture that have been influenced by them. A press preview was held on the 18th, the day before the opening, and the exhibition and overview were released.


This exhibition will feature over 100 projects and works. It is divided into five sections: "New Possibilities for Cities," "Towards Neo-Metabolism Architecture," "Innovations in Lifestyle and Design," "Expansion of the Body and Ethics," and "Transforming Society and Humans." The exhibition is structured to move from macro to micro scales, from cities to architecture, lifestyles, and the body.

We start with the "New Possibilities for Cities" section. The exhibition begins with an exhibit of a futuristic, environmentally friendly city under construction in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East that uses natural energy such as solar power. By showcasing this futuristic city, which is already partially completed, it shows that the future is already a reality. Elsewhere, the urban section features selected projects based on three themes: new living environments such as deserts, oceans, and floating cities; environmental issues; and computer-assisted information cities.


The architecture section, "Towards Neo-Metabolism Architecture," features a work by Eco Logic Studio in which euglena grows into a gel-like substance inside a 3D-printed object, purifying the air through photosynthesis, and an installation by Michael Hansmeyer inspired by the ornamentation of Islamic architecture, made from over 1,400 tubes cut by a computer-controlled robot. The architecture section focuses on construction methods and materials, showcasing robots, 3D printers, drones, and other innovative uses, as well as eco-friendly materials like euglena and mushrooms. The lifestyle section, "Lifestyle and Design Innovation," showcases items directly related to daily life: food, clothing, and shelter. This includes three pieces from bioartist Amy Karle's clothing project, which uses human organs and tissues, such as nerves and lungs, as well as a collection by Yuima Nakazato. It also showcases how technology will change food, including a futuristic sushi project where sushi data is compiled and 3D printed, allowing people to enjoy sushi anywhere in the world.


The "Body Augmentation and Ethics" section, which focuses on the human body, introduces two approaches to bodily transformation and augmentation: robotic augmentation and biotechnology augmentation. In bioart works, artists have attempted to create an environment within the exhibition room where they can experiment with biotechnology, such as a work that uses cellular DNA from the descendants of Van Gogh's paternal and maternal lines to recreate the ear that Van Gogh severed before his death. In the robotic augmentation section, five robotic arms with different styles of painting will sketch visitors' faces. The final section, "Transforming Society and Humans," explores humanity, happiness, the meaning of life, and more. It features an actual "Alter 3" console and footage of the latest game, as well as an installation utilizing surveillance cameras and facial image recognition technology. When you enter a room, faces are projected onto the wall, and in the case of multiple faces, relationships are indicated. The exhibition concludes with a video installation based on ruins in Turkey, analyzing the patterns and surrounding environment and transforming them into abstract video. The exhibition ends with a question about what will happen to us if we live only in a sea of data.


At the press briefing, museum director Nanjo Fumio said, "We created this exhibition after comprehensively reviewing everything we have done up to now. The future will be created by the decisions we make now. We hope that people will enjoy viewing this exhibition and thinking and discussing about it."