To address the climate crisis and our planetary well-being, we must consider the critical situation of marine life on Earth. Oceans, in addition to producing the oxygen that marine animals and microbes breathe, absorb a quarter of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. They are thus both the ‘lungs of the planet’ and its largest carbon sink. Yet how can we recognise the intelligence of the ocean? How can we fully admire the complexity of its ecosystems, feel and see its body and agency, and ultimately respect its rights?
Currently on view at TBA21 is the group show ‘Liquid Intelligence’, curated by Chus Martínez with Soledad Gutiérrez and María Montero, who ask how intelligence can go beyond its association with human bodies to become plural and embrace the values of the ocean. The curators bring together eight international artists who employ various languages to draw people closer to the ocean and its aquatic ecosystems, tides and currents. This immersive exhibition conveys a plurality of alternative futures based on the single idea that all life forms are permanently interconnected. With works by Saelia Aparicio, Lucas Arruda, Anne Duk Hee Jordan, Sonia Levy, Jumana Manna, Ana Mendieta, Beatriz Santiago Muñoz and Inês Zenha. The exhibition also hosts performances, encounters and conversations with curators, artists, musicians, performers, scientists, philosophers and researchers.
