The future in reverse, 9-channel video installation, 38:45 min, 2018

For my diploma thesis “The Future in Reverse”, I traveled to the former World Expo 2000 grounds in Hannover. Several national pavilions were built on the site, including the Dutch pavilion.

The Dutch contribution dealt with the scenario that, in the future, land as a living space will become increasingly scarce. As a solution, a building was realized, with the design by the architectural firm MVRDV, which stacked multiple landscapes, such as a forest or a lake, on top of each other to create more space. According to Michel Foucault, not only did the building represent a heterotopia, a realized utopia, but a world exhibition itself is a real utopia where one can theoretically visit the whole world in a single day. After the end of Expo 2000, the building was left to decay as a failed attempt at a realized utopia. In my work, a 9-channel video installation, I aim to contrast the discrepancy between utopia and dystopia. The now-empty ruin stands in contrast to footage of the constructed models in their 2000 state. – Expectations vs. Reality – Future vs. Present. Instead of creating more space for the people of Hannover, space was taken from them.

“The future is but the obsolete in Reverse”
Vladimir Nabokov

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the extensive support provided by the Exposeum team, which granted me deep insights into their archive, as well as to Mr. Jeschina from Wohnkompanie Nord, who made it possible for me to access the pavilion site.