Marcos Carrasquer
Citizen K Arabia: What is 2118 in your piece?
Balla, the Italian futurist painter, painted his work Dynamism of a dog on a leash, about a century ago. I used a portion of it in my drawing. I’ve always found his painting at once ridiculous and touching. I find it quite funny that a member of Futurism, a virile movement deeply influenced by the mysticism of war and machines, would have painted a tiny dog and the legs of a bourgeois woman to express his vision of the dawning era. What’s more, his depiction of movement is a bit infantile, but it evokes something. The artistic works of the early 20th century were generally positivist. Many artists believed that art would play an essential role in the construction of a new world on the ruins of the old, corrupted one. In this drawing, the person of 2118, who is wearing an astronaut helmet and a T-shirt that says “No Future”, is clearly not of the same opinion.
In 2118, what will be new?
Maybe floating islands. The ocean will take up much more of the earth. The islands will certainly emulate the unequal division of resources elsewhere on earth, but to a more extreme degree: they’ll be easier to control.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
I don’t see 2118 as a time that will create vernacular expressions like blues and flamenco. Blues was born in the delta of the Mississippi. It wasn’t spontaneous, from nothing, but it nevertheless took shape over several years in a kind of geographical and temporal vacuum, without the outside world intruding on it. That will be impossible in 2118: there won’t be any time for something like the 2118 blues to become a mystery.
In 2118, what will we miss?
Class syndicalism, Bob Dylan, maybe snow.
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
I hope we’ll remember more than the anniversary of the Armistice. But definitely we’ll consider 2018 as part of a period of the decline of the American Empire and, in parallel, the rise of fascist movements in the United States. Trump is like Nero. He doesn’t believe in anything except himself. But unlike Nero, he was elected by a desperate populace.
Amélie Bertrand
What is 2118 in your piece?
It’s a digital sketch for a painted work. The medium of oil painting is indestructible! In 2118, something has broken under pressure. This drawing evokes the setting of a peaceful summer holiday.
In 2118, what will be new?
New colours, an ocean beach in Strasbourg.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
Public school and civic-mindedness.
In 2118, what will we miss?
Honey and seasons, language, nuclear winter, absolute faith in transhumanism.
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
Rihanna.
Mireille Blanc
What is 2118 in your piece?
It’s a drawing inspired by Richard Fleischer’s thriller, Soylent Green (1973), wherein a man condemned to death sits on a red sofa staring at nature, in all its glory, on a screen in front of him. Natural re-sources are depleted, there’s overpopulation, and Soylent offers man-kind a final chance to contemplate images of nature.
In 2118, what will be new?
Our current way of consuming and feeding ourselves.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
The inequality of men and women
In 2118, what will we miss?
What I reference in the drawing: a certain idea of nature.
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
Let’s be optimistic: 2018, the start of an ecological revolution.
Simon Pasieka
What is 2118 in your piece?
2118 in my painting is an image being taken on the trunk of a tree. A camera obscura made of leather is installed in front of a light-sensitive surface. An annual visitor cleans it and, each time, carves the year below the installation. Here we see the numbers written in a digital style, carved over the course of a century, a life... The last one, which is the clearest, is 2118.
In 2118, what will be new?
‘Natural selection’ will be definitively replaced by ‘survival of the fittest’.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
Cars in cities.
In 2118, what will we miss?
No idea and no way of knowing. As Donald Rumsfeld would say, “There are also unknown unknowns”.
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
The confirmation of the existence of gravitational waves, Nobel prizes, etc.
Hervé Ic
What is 2118 in your piece?
Deserts will meet the oceans, making the earth infertile. What is left of cities will move to the shores, punctuated by interconnected megatowers. ‘Free humanity’ will survive along the beach from the waste brought in by the tide.
In 2118, what will be new?
Science and technology, which for so long helped mankind escape the brutality of nature, will plunge us back into it with their excesses.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
Natural agriculture. As fertile ecosystems are soiled, food self-sufficiency will become problematic for the masses of people ransomed by industry.
In 2118, what will we miss?
Mental health and liberty. Today they are legitimate, if not universally guaranteed, but in the future they will become abstract notions.
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
Whatever is decisive, which means useful for the next century. Money spent doesn’t impress anyone, much less the successes of the past. Scientific knowledge, philosophy, anthropology, general culture, anything that can help us understand and anticipate delusions and mass behaviours will be valuable.
Axel Pahlavi
What is 2118 in your piece?
In my drawing, 2118 is entirely factual and so I’ve placed an object that exists today in another context to give it a newmeaning. Will the term ‘non-connectable’ to describe an object become a neologism?
In 2118, what will be new?
I have absolutely no idea. At most, I can imagine a staggering increase in Internet connection in the next ten years.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
Probably me, which is very good. It’s important to leave room for others.
In 2118, what will we miss?
I’m thinking of tranquillity, hidden locations, the possibility of doing things without anyone knowing about it.
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
A period of change.
Aurore Pallet
What is 2118 in your piece?
It’s the apocalypse! This drawing is inspired by a fourteenth century tapestry illustrating the Bible.
In 2118, what will be new?
Either the Reptilians or the Illuminati will have seized power... I’m torn.
In 2118, what will have disappeared?
The world! At the very least.
In 2118, what will we miss?
Well, if it’s the end of the world...
In 2118, what will we remember from 2018?
The bicentennial of the end of World War I?
