Speculative Futures is the outcome of a three-month residency in which Joaquín Fargas was selected. Organized by ThoughtWorks Arts at the Mars College in Bombay Beach, California.
The project aimed to empower urban communities through research conducted in the desert, resulting in the following artworks:
Speculative Futures, the main installation, is composed by twelve solar robots that make a performance moving their heads with smooth movements to worship the sun. In the not so distant future, this legion of robots were sent to every corner of the Universe, carrying frozen human embryos to raise new civilizations.
Unknown bot is a kind of creature that looks for a place where life can be possible. It is a mobile entity that allows the scanning of polluted lakes/rivers looking for possible life forms and the state they are in. With this concept, the aim is to encourage scientists to think differently about our environments and the different possibilities to treat them.
Planet B is a sculptural representation of the Earth’s drought composed using “cracked earth” pieces collected from the nearby desert, thin set mortar mix, wire wesh and a round plastic base.
Thoughtworks Arts is a global research lab incubating art & tech collaborations, exploring emerging technology impacts on industry, culture & society.
Mars College is an educational program, R&D Lab and off-grid residential community in the desert area of Bombay Beach, California.
The residency took place from January to March 2023.