A big sheet of sheer, black material hangs from the ceiling of Kraftwerk, a former energy station turned arts house in Berlin. Sections lengthen throughout the huge, industrial house, rippling just like the trailing tendrils of a jellyfish, seeming to each conduct and reply to different parts within the house. Whether or not it’s the breathy soundscape punctuated by sudden bursts of noise or the fragile, meteor-like sculptures suspended from the ceiling that shiver as they’re raised and lowered, all the things feels in sync – an orchestra of disparate types sure collectively by invisible forces.
That is ‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’, a brand new large-scale exhibition by Brussels-based artist Laure Prouvost that opened final week. Created after two years of analysis with thinker Tobias Rees and Google’s Quantum Synthetic Intelligence Lab founder Hartmut Neven, the work explores ideas from quantum physics, a department of science that describes how particles behave on the smallest scales, usually in ways in which defy classical logic. ‘[The project] isn’t nearly experimenting with new know-how; it’s about shifting our perspective,’ says Bettina Kames, founding father of LAS Artwork Basis, the Berlin-based group who commissioned ‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’ to launch their new Sensing Quantum programme.
The idea of quantum entanglement – the place two or extra entities intermingle and grow to be deeply related, whatever the distance between them – appears to be one of many key inspirations behind the exhibition, and its central movie specifically. Proven on a round display beneath the lengths of suspended material, Prouvost’s movie options close-up footage of all the things from hen’s ft to concrete particles. In a voiceover, the artist recites poetic phrases in a seductive whisper; ‘we’re we’ is a repeated chorus. On the press preview, Prouvost described how quantum theories can promote empathy and unity, imploring guests to ‘expertise this present as a we’ and ‘neglect your self, grow to be the earth, grow to be the concrete, grow to be the column.’
‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’ coincides with the centennial celebrations of quantum physics, that are being marked by a U.N.-declared worldwide 12 months. It feels extremely well timed given the speedy developments in quantum computing, through which quantum bits (qubits) – Prouvost playfully renames them ‘cute bits’ in her present, reimagining them as kinetic sculptures – are used to carry out calculations at extraordinary speeds. ‘Whereas the digital computer systems we use daily course of data step-by-step, quantum computer systems course of it abruptly,’ explains Libby Heaney, a London-based artist with a doctorate in quantum physics who has collaborated extensively with LAS on earlier initiatives. Quantum computer systems differ from AI fashions as they will think about new futures and prospects, relatively than merely copying the previous after being educated on current knowledge. ‘In some methods, they’re nearer to us,’ provides Prouvost. ‘They’ve their very own company and aren’t as simply managed.’
Whereas Prouvost labored with knowledge from a quantum laptop on the movie for ‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’, utilizing it to reimagine the order and aesthetic of her footage, it doesn’t seem like quantum computer systems will grow to be common instruments for artists any time quickly. Nonetheless in growth, they’re unreliable and extremely delicate to environmental modifications like temperature fluctuations. ‘They will even really feel when a star dies,’ Prouvost advised me, hinting on the which means behind her present’s title. Heaney provides that whereas it’s a fable that they’re laborious to entry – IBM has had quantum computer systems obtainable on-line since 2019 – artists wrestle to know ‘what to do with one until [they] have coaching in quantum or [they’re] so mathematically gifted that [they’re] capable of educate [themselves].’
That’s to not say quantum science received’t have a big impression on the artistic industries. Ideas like superposition – the concept that an entity can exist in two states directly – which is usually used to proof the existence of the multiverse, are significantly widespread amongst artists and filmmakers. ‘Each time one thing occurs, the universe branches into two,’ explains Heaney. ‘There’s an virtually infinite variety of universes the place all the things that might occur, occurs.’ She herself created Heartbreak and Magic in 2024, a VR expertise at Somerset Home formed by the consolation she took in quantum physics after the tragic loss of life of her sister. ‘Science says that she ought to nonetheless exist in some parallel universe,’ Heaney says.
Regardless of the thrilling potential for artistic exploration, the speedy growth of quantum computing raises vital moral issues. ‘[Quantum computers] might be owned by probably the most highly effective tech corporations and governments on the earth,’ says Heaney. ‘The flexibility to simulate and replica actuality might be a lot deeper than ever earlier than.’ There are ecological issues too, as quantum computing makes use of restricted uncommon earth minerals, and Prouvost factors to safety dangers: quantum computer systems might break passwords and locks at unprecedented speeds. In December, Google introduced their Willow chip, able to performing in 5 minutes a calculation that may take another supercomputer over 10 septillion years’ Kames explains, ‘and nobody actually is aware of what China is doing.’
For these causes, regulation is important for quantum know-how simply as it’s for AI. Whereas ‘when it comes to pure tech growth [of quantum], the US and China are main the way in which,’ Kames believes that Europe has the chance to spearhead these moral discussions – particularly if it leverages its wealthy and various cultural sector to drive significant conversations. ‘We strongly consider this know-how might be disruptive,’ she says. ‘It’ll change the world. It’s pressing to deliver this discourse into society.’ That’s precisely what ‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’ units out to do, difficult us not solely to interact with burgeoning know-how, but additionally to suppose deeply in regards to the world we wish to create with it.
Laure Prouvost’s ‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’ is on view at Kraftwerk, Berlin, till 4 Might
Important picture: Laure Prouvost, ‘WE FELT A STAR DYING’, 2025, exhibition view. Courtesy: the artist, LAS Artwork Basis, Berlin, and OGR Torino; {photograph}: Andrea Rossetti
