Future Anterior - Poetic Responses

Future Anterior features the work of lens-based artists who subvert the use of archival technologies as tools of control. Taking its name from the future perfect tense — the “will have been”— Future Anterior explores new methods of record creation which reject the inert chronicling of places and events.

Looking to deconstruct the oppressive logic of surveillance, classification, and preservation embodied by traditional archiving techniques, artists mobilise the material conditions, associations, and histories both indexed and concealed by the image frame. Experimenting with different modes of documentation, Future Anterior offers a flexible basis for collective memory; inviting a space for speculation by thinking through the document as a renewable resource for elaboration and play.

Works by Joseph Blair, Indra Liusuari, Emily Simek, Bixiao Zhang & Joy Zhou.

Curated by Mia Palmer-Verevis, Emeline Robinson-Shaw and Madeleine Sherburn

Presented as part of PHOTO 2024.