“The Bird From The Future”

TANK Shanghai is delighted to announce “The Bird From The Future”, the upcoming first solo exhibition in China by French visual artist and film director Charles de Meaux. The exhibition opens on 24 September 2024 and will remain on view until 27 October.

In part inspired by Darwin’s discovery of various species of island finches in the Galapagos archipelago in the early 1830s, and based on scientific data on climate change and forecast trends that were collected with Stream Lab, Paris, Charles de Meaux works in collaboration with the AI research labs in Paris to create drawings and sounds of “the bird from the future”—the one that will have succeeded in fully adapting to the new living conditions on earth brought about by global warming and changes in human habitats and lifestyles. Based on the main drawings and sounds that he co-created with AI, Charles de Meaux creates animated drawings in collaboration with an animation studio, which are projected in loop in the exhibition.

Installation view of exhibition

In September 1835, the Beagle had just arrived in the Galapagos archipelago. While surveying the rich fauna, Darwin noticed that thirteen species of finches lived on the Galapagos islands and one on Cocos Island. At first, he was struck by the resemblance of all these finches to those he had seen in England, but was even more struck by the different beak shapes he encountered. All the birds had roughly the same body, but each had a different beak. Darwin sensed that the birds he saw existed nowhere else, that he was looking at a single species that had mutated, and that the beaks had changed to suit the food they found. Although the islands were relatively close together, each species had mutated to adapt perfectly to the characteristics of their environment. Darwin didn't know it at the time, but his observations on the finches' beaks were to form the basis of his revolutionary concept of the evolution of species. "The bird from the Future" aimed at imagining in the same scientific approach how the evolution of the bird would proceed in the future. The aesthetic of the exhibition will be inspired by the historic drawing style and technic of renown and historical French scientist Georges-Louis Leclerc (Comte de Buffon).

 M. Joan VALADOU, Consul général du consulat de France à Shanghai is giving a speech for the opening

Artist Charles de Meaux is giving guide tour for the Consul général du consulat de France à Shanghai and the Attaché culturel du consulat de France à Shanghai

Charles de Meaux has made the exhibition space a futuristic observation site. The audience will first walk through a tunnel-like corridor before arriving at the observation platform in the heart of the TANK.  The natural light from the skylight on the dome will be adjusted to simulate the light of the future, and a flock of ‘birds from the future’ will be projected onto the cylindrical wall, flying and circling around it.

From left to right：

 M. Joan VALADOU, Consul général du consulat de France à Shanghai 

Artist Charles de Meaux

Director of TANK Shanghai Mr.Qiao Zhibing

M. Franck SERRANO, Attaché culturel du consulat de France à Shanghai 

Charles de Meaux is a visual artist. Born in Istanbul in 1967, he lives and works in Paris. A multifaceted artist, Charles de Meaux questioned early on the rapport between artist and medium, choosing to consider it redundant. He was one of the first to work on the space between cinema and contemporary art. His works include visual installations, feature films, as much as sound sculptures or video installations.

Charles de Meaux explores the relevance of art in the world, addressing the question of otherness, and the representation of nature and landscapes. Much of his work touches on the meaning of landscape in the contemporary world, and how we inhabit and live Earth. With a strong desire to take art out of the protective space of museums, Charles de Meaux’ work is very present in the public space. As such, one of his latest creations, ‘Bestiaire’, is a permanent monumental digital work visible only from metro trains, in the tunnel between two stations in the city of Rennes, in Brittany, France.

In 1997 Charles de Meaux created Anna Sanders, his own collective, with Pierre Huyghe, Philippe Parenno and Dominique Gonzalez‑Foerster. Institutions and Museums collections: MoMa (New York), The Chinati Foundation (Marfa), Centre Pompidou (Paris), Consortium (Dijon), FNAC Fond National d’art contemporain (France), New Media Museum (South Korea).