Inverted Utopias. The Divergent Evolution of Immortality Pursuits
This project is understood as an analytical tool to explore the quest for eternal life under past and contemporary techno-utopian conditions. More specifically, it investigates the pursuit of immortality through two different approaches: one is the cultural-philosophical Russian Cosmism movement and the search for everlasting life in nineteenth-century Russia; the other is the contemporary wave of research projects on longevity and the abolition of death, born of the interdependence of techno-science and neoliberal societies. Furthermore, the research explores to what extent aesthetic and philosophical practices can serve as tools of cultural and social speculation, either criticizing or anticipating socioeconomic discrepancies that might haunt techno-determinist ideals as such.
Chana de Moura is a visual artist and doctoral student at the University of Art and Design Linz. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts in 2017 from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In 2019, she completed her Master’s studies in fine arts at Porto University, Portugal. Since 2019 she has collaborated on various projects as a futurist researcher, especially on projects linked to democratic decision-making and technological developments.
»Intersecções entre a história ea geo-história: a arte enquanto observatório do Antropoceno« (»Intersections between History and Geohistory: Art as an Observatory of the Anthropocene«), in: Cadernos PET de Filosofia (Federal University of Paraná, Brazil) 19.1 (2021); »Viver é uma impossibilidade coletiva: algumas formas como a pós-verdadesequestra o consenso« (»Life Is a Collective Impossibility: How Post-truth Politicians Undermine Consensus«, in: ClimaCom – Diante dos Negacionismos 8.21 (2021) [Online]; Chana de Moura, et al., »Research Project: Envisioning Cities«, https://www.envisioning.io/work/cities; with Maria Eduarda Appel, »Terra, organismo vivo« (»Earth, a Living Organism«), in: Porto Alegre: Mandala Lunar, 2020, pp. 44–47.
While some might think this is a trend unique to the realm of science fiction, today’s tech elites are actively seeking to overcome death. Based on investigations into immortality projects, this lecture will explore how techno-utopians transmit their beliefs as truth and therefore colonize the collective imaginary.