What does progress mean nowadays? Who defines it? What is our verdict on past and present visions of the future? Do we still want to imagine an ideal future? Can we? The Dreams of Progress exhibition intends to introduce the visitor to these questions by screening eleven videos from corporations and artists.
The first set of videos explores some of the utopias envisioned by corporations from the 40s to the present day. They offer an insight into the values of their time: efficiency, technology, consumerism, knowledge, sustainability, and globalisation, just to name a few.
The second set of videos are made by emerging video artists from around the world. Some of the artists describe their own vision of the future, others express their perspective on the ambivalent notion of Progress. Rather than reaching a consensus, their videos put forward a wide range of perspectives, from nostalgia to optimism, cynicism to belief.
Both sets are distributed on five screens so that a dialogue between the videos can occur. The visitor is asked to make his own judgement on whether what he sees is propaganda led by self interest or a genuine proposition for a better future. The exhibition does not provide any concrete answers, but instead intends to question the notions of utopia and progress. More than ever, the world needs to meditate on its course. New utopias paradoxically tend to emerge in the least favourable circumstances. For some, they testify on the capacity that has humanity to choose itself until its most unlikely course. For others, they are a chronic disease.