FUTURE MANIFESTOS
KJØPMANNSGATA UNG KUNST, 9. APRIL – 31. MAI 2026
Åpning: 9. april 2026 kl.18.00
Kuratorer: Zane Cerpina, Espen Gangvik
Tech Bro Debates Humanity [2024]
In Tech Bro Debates Humanity, two men appear on monitors, debating various pressing issues facing humanity. These avatars, generated using AI, are modeled on Sputniko!’s facial image and voice, but are transformed into white male figures embodying the “Tech Bro” mentality associated with figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. The dialogue between these avatars is also generated by AI.
A tradition of female artists engaging with new technology while dressing as and adopting a male persona to release work has been widespread since the 1990s, especially among artists whose work addresses or engages with minority statuses in society. Artists such as Laurie Anderson, known for her complex performances that use a vocoder, have been known to caricature male personas, for example, in her performance The Clash (2010). Such ironic, parodic strategies both disrupt and critique gender binaries, deconstructing the male/female dichotomy. Donna Haraway’s mid-1980s observation that we have all become chimeras—part human, part machine—remains relevant today, challenging not only the binary of male/female but also that of human/non-human. Her theory has since underpinned a broad spectrum of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, while also providing a framework for confronting the ethical challenges that arise as we interact with newly emerging entities such as generative AI.
In the past few years, discussions around technology have quickly shifted from merely pipe-dream what-ifs to a more pragmatic focus on “who, when, and how.” When Sputniko! began her career in the 2000s, the tech world embraced a spirit of openness and democratization. Technologies such as the internet and open-source commons fostered the idea that democratization through technology might subvert the macho, patriarchal capitalism of modern society. Sputniko!’s works reflect her engagement with this era’s social issues and her ongoing exploration of potential futures structured around DEI. Yet today’s Silicon Valley has seen a shift toward a “Tech Bro” elitism that prioritizes male-dominated structures, even leading to support for Donald Trump’s extreme conservatism in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. As DEI efforts are reversed, Tech Bro Debates Humanity offers a satirical portrayal of gender dynamics and an ironic commentary on a Silicon Valley that debates and seeks control over humanity’s future from within a closed-off community.
Sputniko! [JP/UK]
Hiromi Ozaki, known as Sputniko!, is a British–Japanese artist whose work playfully yet provocatively explores the intersection of technology, identity, and society. Through films, robotics, music, and interactive installations, she challenges social norms and imagines the ethical and cultural implications of emerging technologies.
Her work has been exhibited internationally at leading institutions, including MoMA (New York), Centre Pompidou-Metz (France), the V&A Museum (London), Cooper Hewitt (New York), the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Kanazawa), and the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Between 2013 and 2017, she was an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she founded and directed the Design Fiction Group, and later served as Associate Professor at both the University of Tokyo and Tokyo University of the Arts.
Named Vogue Japan Woman of the Year in 2013, Sputniko! has also been recognized as a TED Fellow, delivering a widely acclaimed talk at TED 2019, and as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2017. Her works are held in significant permanent collections, including M+ (Hong Kong), the Victoria and Albert Museum (UK), and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art (Japan).
In recent years, she has expanded her practice into social entrepreneurship as Founder and CEO of Cradle Inc., a company dedicated to supporting women’s health and well-being in the workplace, now serving more than 80 major corporations across Japan.
—
Photo credits. Portrait photo by Mami Arai.
