Today, developments such as artificial intelligence, genome editing, and nuclear energy (operational in Japan since 1963) demonstrate the unprecedented impact that science and technology have on our society, affecting our politics, economy, and social systems. Although these technologies provide solutions to problems that face humanity, they lead to new, more complex issues. We are also affected by infectious diseases caused by viruses, which have been of concern since the Neolithic Revolution some 12,000 years ago when human behavior patterns changed, bringing populations closely together to form agricultural communities. In February 2020, Nature magazine reported on sequencing and analysis of the viral genome of a new virus discovered in China, based on specimens taken from the first known patient with the severe respiratory disease that it caused, said to be a worker at a seafood market. Analysis revealed that the virus was most closely related to a group of SARS-like coronaviruses that had previously been found in bats in China. The new virus, a novel coronavirus later named COVID-19, has rapidly spread around the world, causing a pandemic. Given this situation, it is important to look back and remember why it was decided to organize this exhibition.
Histopolis—Extinction and Regeneration is planned and curated by guest curator Yohsuke Takahashi and Takayo Iida (supervisor of the exhibition and director of the Sgùrr Dearg Institute for Sociology of the Arts). A new form of nature is emerging—industrially designed, and of a different dimension to that of nature as we knew it. At the same time, technology is currently blending into life and into the ecosystem, and all sorts of things are being eroded. Given those circumstances, we are exploring the extent to which humanity has to face up to the risk of human extinction. Furthermore, by revealing a small part of the historical background that undergoes transformation amid chaos, the exhibition—through the works of the participating artists—attempts to see how far humanity’s raison d’être in global history can be linked to the prospects for our future.

And finally, we must sound a warning regarding science and technology and its boundless development. When energy issues and the issue of whether nuclear power is actually necessary were under discussion in Germany in 1986, sociologist Ulrich Beck* used the term “risk society” to describe our society’s approach of using science and technology to control the risks of science and technology. His warning needs to be firmly imprinted in our minds. It is highly relevant because, ever since 3.11, people in Japan have felt uneasy about our future due to the presence of nuclear plants and other black boxes driven by high technology. And it has become even more pressing with the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Issues of human extinction and regeneration are now very much a practical concern, as are the concepts of necropolis (city of the dead) and histopolis (city of tissue culture—a place of eternal growth).

Takayo Iida (director of the Sgùrr Dearg Institute for Sociology of the Arts)

* Ulrich Beck (1944-2015)
Born in what is now northern Poland. Became professor at Münster University and other institutions, including Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). One of Germany’s best-known sociologists. Author of Risk Society (1986), a warning of the risks facing today’s society, and The Terrorist Threat: World Risk Society Revisited (2002). Member of the Ethics Commission for a Safe Energy Supply, an advisory body established by the German government in the wake of the 2001 nuclear accident in Fukushima.