EXHIBITION: Fertile Void

A showcase of Amy Karle’s quantum artworks will be presented within the larger Fertile Void exhibition at HKW Haus der Kulturen der Welt, as part of a group show and discursive program on quantum technology hosted by Studio Quantum and during Berlin Science Week. Karle will be participating in discussions and showcasing her quantum art that explores the intersection of art and design, science and technology, humanity, and the cosmos.

ENTANGLED HORIZONS 
An exhibition of Amy Karle’s Quantum Artworks within Fertile Void

Amy Karle charts the invisible architectures binding subatomic realms to cosmic expanses in this multisensory collection of quantum art presented at HKW and simultaneously in orbit, destined to be embedded on the Moon in late 2024-early 2025, extending her exploration and entangled horizon into the cosmos.

Collapsing the boundaries between the infinitesimal atomic and the vast expanse of outer space, this collection of works explores the inseparable bond between the quantum field, ourselves, and the universe. It invites audiences to contemplate their place in an entangled, infinite horizon, where the boundaries between the subatomic and the cosmic dissolve.

Her works traverse the complexity of the quantum terrain, creating a pathway into parallel perspectives and intertwined possibilities, offering an immersive glimpse of the complex, interwoven dynamics that define our reality across the dimensions of space and time.

The generative video installation, adapted from Echoes From The Valley of Existence (2024)  reflects the fluidity of reality where multiple states coalesce and diverge in perpetual flux. These visual phenomena serve as portals, revealing the possibilities inherent in every moment and particle, illuminating the convergence of multiple states and timelines in ever-shifting configurations—an experience that mirrors the unseen forces governing the universe.

The immersive soundscape adds another layer, designed to resonate with the human body at a cellular level. Participants are invited to experience quantum vibrations physically through the sound, which becomes a visceral interface between the body and the quantum realm. The soundscape facilitates a physical engagement and connection with the very forces shaping our reality —embodying the entangled relationship between technology and life.

The quantum-based video and soundscape adapted from the full installation, are being shown in this exhibition. The video elements, developed using quantum principles and quantum-inspired imagery, reflect the interplay between the physical and quantum realms.  The sound, grounded in quantum physics and healing frequencies, creates a sensory echo, which research from Stanford University shows positively affects the cymatics of heart cells. Sound made in collaboration with Sefa Sagir.

Sketches of Quantum Concepts further probes paradoxes of quantum principles such as superposition, entanglement, and wave-particle duality through art, data visualization, AI, and quantum physics. The work also leverages pulsar timing array data visualization to illuminate possibilities of communication across vast distances in both space and time. The visual language bridges the microscopic quantum world with vast interstellar distances, inviting reflection on communication across space and time.

Each of these works emerges from the same foundational quantum principles, offering distinct yet interconnected iterations.

By sending a copy of this work into space and embedding it on the Moon, Karle extends the quantum entanglement present in her art into a literal cosmic entanglement. The work exists now on Earth, but is also meant for discovery at some unknown point in the future, collapsing the boundaries between past, present, and future, where infinite potential futures remain intertwined until future observers engage with the work on the Moon.

While retrospectives are traditionally backward-looking, this retrospective is infused with future potential, holding within it both what has been and what could be. 

The retrospective is not just a summation of past achievements, but an invitation to consider what the future holds and how the past informs potential futures. It is an artifact of a speculative future for unborn generations. 

Together, these works showcase Karle’s prototyping of a doorway into the quantum fold, recalibrating our perception to recognize ourselves as living embodiments of quantum principles and cosmic processes; underscoring the inseparable nature of these realms, where multiple states and timelines intertwine influencing each other across space and time.

As these artworks journey beyond Earth—existing simultaneously in orbit and destined for the Moon in November 2024—Karle extends her exploration into the cosmos, creating a legacy that dissolves the boundaries of space, time, and existence. In Entangled Horizons, the concept of entanglement becomes literal, offering a meditation on how human identity, technology, and the cosmos are inextricably linked. 

All works made by Amy Karle with support from the Goethe-Institut Irland as part of the Studio Quantum residency 2023

 The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of World Cultures), in Berlin is Germany’s national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and societies.

Fertile Void is a cooperation between Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) and the Goethe-Institut Irland / Studio Quantum, with contributions from the JUNGE AKADEMIE of the Akademie der Künste,  Schering Stiftung, Universität der Künste, Berlin and Trinity College Dublin. The project is part of Berlin Science Week. With thanks to Quantum Delta, ZKM, ITAS (KIT), Science Gallery London, King’s College and Zeitgeist Irland 24, an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland in Germany. 

In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut’s Studio Quantum Artist-in-Residence programme, five artists working across different mediums will showcase work in Haus der Kulturen der Welt during Berlin Science Week.  

kennedy+swan (Berlin), Amy Karle (San Francisco), Edy Fung (Stockholm/Belfast) and Ìfẹ́olúwa Ọ̀ṣúnkọ́yà (Lagos) will, for the first time, present work created as part of their Studio Quantum residencies. Visitors are invited to delve into the world of quantum technologies through sound installations, VR experiences and visual art.  Explore the installations in the Sylvia Wynter Foyer of  HKW during the general opening hours: Monday – Wednesday – 12PM – 7PM with longer opening hours on event days. Free entry on Monday and on the first Sunday of the month.  

As quantum science begins to emerge as a palpable reality through quantum technologies, the question of  what is lost and what is gained in translations between theory and practice becomes central. In addition to these installations, Fertile Void seeks to map out synergies between sciences, cultures, and the arts, as well as longer standing cosmologies on the creation of living matter in all forms during an event series.

The detailed programme featuring panel discussions, workshops and artist performances.
during Berlin Science Week can be found at:

https://berlinscienceweek.com/programme/fertile-void-installations
https://berlinscienceweek.com/programme/fertile-void-day-1

https://berlinscienceweek.com/de/programme/fertile-void-day-2
https://berlinscienceweek.com/de/programme/fertile-void-day-3

https://berlinscienceweek.com/programme

“100 years after the first quantum experiments in western science, Fertile Void approaches quantum technology as a dynamic field of scientific, political, aesthetic, and cosmological inquiry in order to question the directionality, technological materiality, the terms of embodiment and cultural experiences it promises. As quantum science begins to emerge as a palpable reality through quantum technologies, the question of what is lost and what is gained in translations between theory and practice becomes central. Fertile Void seeks to map synergies between sciences, cultures, and the arts, as well as longer standing cosmologies on the creation of living matter in all forms.

Examining the fundamental relationship between matter and energy (or ‘life force’), a theme central to many cosmologies across time and space, and inherent to how quantum mechanics understands the very makeup of the world, the event seeks to broaden our understanding of the technology itself and the philosophical conceptions it entails.

Fertile Void explores the notions of sociality that quantum physics proposes; how we can read them through different epistemologies and how can quantum technologies actualize these lines of inquiry?”

With contributions from:

manuel arturo abreu, Mareike Bernien, Chloé Delarue, Linda Doyle, Ale de la Puente, Fehdah, Ivette Fuentes, Edy Fung, John Goold, Clara Hermann, Gesche Joost, Amy Karle, kennedy + swan, Afra Khan, Radmila Lorencová, Tina Lorenz, Alexandra Martens-Serrano, Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan, David Odiase, Odun Orimolade, Ìfẹ́olúwa Ọ̀ṣúnkọ́yà, Natalie Paneng, Constanza Piña Pardo, Sarah Selby, Paola Torres Núñez del Prado, Radek Trnka, Michaela Vieser, Riche-Mike Wellington.

 Fertile Void is a cooperation between Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) and the Goethe-Institut Irland / Studio Quantum, with contributions from the JUNGE AKADEMIE of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Schering Stiftung and Universität der Künste, Berlin. The project is part of Berlin Science Week.