josh kline's concrete apocalypse furniture casts fears of technology in the future

to celebrate the opening of their second space in london’s east end neighborhood and its’ first solo exhibition of new york artist josh kline, the modern art gallery london previews a selection of exhibits during miami art basel 2017. taken from the ‘civil war’ exhibit the concrete cast works builds upon kline’s project ‘unemployment’, looking at the potent potential human consequences of automation, artificial intelligence, and mass-unemployment in the decades ahead.

image of the civil war exhibition in london
images courtesy of josh kline and modern art, london unless stated otherwise

in civil war josh kline explores the socio-political implications of these transformations in the context of the united states, including large-scale installations of cast sculptures that appear as concrete rubble, as well as a new short film set in a utopian future america. during art basel in miami, modern art gallery displayed a wendy house and piles of teddy bears cast in concrete were exhibited against grey plastered walls and industrial flooring, creating a look that was altogether apocalyptic. civil war is part of an ongoing cycle of installation-based projects by kline about human life in the 21st Century.

 
concrete piles of rubble occupy the space
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the exhibits look at the potential human consequences of automation, artificial intelligence, and mass-unemployment
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modern art gallery london previews exhibits from josh kline’s major new body of work civil war
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a concrete wendy house alludes to a dystopian future
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the concrete shell offer a desaturated image in place of something traditionally colourful
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close-up details of the concrete case wendy house
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broken part of concrete basins are strewn across the space

broken pieces of garden tools are piled up in the grey space
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close ups show the iron rod skeletons within the concrete casts of the items
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objects such as phones, plastic forks and nail files are shown inside the objects
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beer cans, mugs and other items act as symbols of everyday life, in contrast with the concrete dystopia kline has created
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