Max de Esteban: Appearance and reality in a contemporary regime
A Forest is Max de Esteban’s installation from the MACBA Collection. It consists of two works produced by the artist in 2019: a set of photographs that are probably the first selfies on a Deep Learning platform, and a video featuring a monologue by a major investor in artificial intelligence. ‘What the video explores is the contradiction between appearance and reality in a contemporary regime.’ This is how Max de Esteban introduces the work, only to add: ‘I’m interested in the infrastructures of contemporary capitalism, artificial intelligence and the political dilemmas they pose.’ During a research process that may last up to three or four years, the artist generates a theoretical corpus on the subject, as well as a specific imaginary that is reflected in the work in question. In the case of A Forest, he presents a winter landscape reminiscent of a neural network, but also of collective and interconnected life.
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MACBA Collection. Prelude Poetic Intention
