The films of London-based contemporary artist Ben Rivers resemble elaborate works of science fiction. His solo show “Urth,” now on display at the Renaissance Society, is filled with imaginary worlds inhabited by shaken and isolated societies. Each piece, projected throughout three adjoining rooms in the gallery, is a chilling portent of a future devastated by climate change and miserable with human solitude.
“I liked the idea of these different temperate regions and people attempting to live inside that, and be separate from the world,” Rivers said during the artist talk. He spoke of Biosphere 2, the site of the highly publicized closed-system ecological experiment that took place in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert in the early 90s. Though certain aspects of the experiment’s wayward design were contentious, its fundamental premise—to test whether human survivors of a planet-wide cataclysm could survive by maintaining and residing in an earthlike artificial habitat—motivates Urth.
Through 11/6: Tue-Fri 10 AM-5 PM, Sat and Sun noon-5 PM Renaissance Society 5811 S. Ellis Cobb Hall, fourth floor 773-702-8670renaissancesociety.org Free
