HALVING

Coincidence or sign of fate? The celebration of the Olympic Games coincides with that of the Halving, an event specific to the Bitcoin network which is also celebrated every four years.

Kirk Finkel, aka "untitled, xyz", looks ahead to the year 2140, the last Halving event. He imagines that technological progress and overdeveloped brains have stifled the notion of physical well-being: our relationship with the body is no longer the same, and sport is a forgotten practice, replaced by intellectual competition. So much so that the celebration of the Olympic Games has merged with the Halving: competitions take place in virtual worlds, where athletes are avatars with augmented intelligence. The artist proposes a complex imaginary construction reminiscent of the impossible structures of the artist M. C. Escher. His columns have lost their supporting function, seeking a new role, trying out new tasks: filling gaps, punctuating surfaces, becoming bridges (obsolete since the avatar is capable of leaping great distances) or pedestals (useless since nothing will be placed on them). One thing's for sure, these columns remain a familiar and reassuring part of the scenery in a world where all the rules have changed.