iX SYMPOSIUM | Utopia is Oblivion (Immersive Keynote)

The provocative 1969 book "Utopia or Oblivion" by Buckminster Fuller presented a stark choice between binary opposites. But what if they’re deeply entangled? Dreams of utopia (“no place”) frequently require oblivion (”the state of forgetting”), when pursuits of an ideal society are contingent on the erasure of existing realities.

Yet, as the saying goes, the land doesn’t forget — and water has memory. Experience is held in both bodies and places.

This immersive performance examines the consequences of utopian endeavors, from the religious and colonial to the technological and corporate. By uncovering the paradoxes hidden within these idealistic pursuits, we explore the potential of emerging technologies to foster reconnection and remembrance rather than impose exclusion and control — and to fundamentally re-establish relationships with the living world.

Immersive live visuals will compliment the session.

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During the event, no interpreter for the Deaf will be present.

This activity will be simultaneously transcribed and translated in either French or English using an application powered by artificial intelligence. Those wishing to use this accessibility feature will find QR codes on site, which they can scan in order to connect to the live transcription. They may also click the “Transcriptions” button in the MUTEK Forum App homepage. This is a beta service, we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy.