Exhibition
27.04. – 24.05.2025
Exhibition with Lauren Moffatt and Theresa Reiwer, curated by Dr. Marlene Bart, in cooperation with Nabi Nara
Opening: 26 April 2025, 7 PM
Exhibition Duration: 27 April – 24 May 2025
Venue: SOMA Art Berlin, Eylauer Str. 9, 10965 Berlin
Opening Hours: Wednesday to Saturday, 2–6 PM
Gallery Weekend Berlin: The exhibition will be open on 2 and 3 May 2025 from 2–6 PM
Note: The exhibition will be closed on 1 May 2025 (public holiday)
The exhibition ‘Thirsty Machines: AI on Tap’ addresses the increasing consumption of water in the context of the rise of AI. It is part of the annual ORBIS PIXELORUM programme by Prater Digital at the Prater Gallery and is organized in cooperation with SOMA Art Berlin.
‘Thirsty Machines: AI on Tap’ highlights the complex interplay of water and AI, and presents works by the artists Lauren Moffatt and Theresa Reiwer. Both their positions problematise the ecological impact of digital technologies, since they do not exist in isolation, but rather in constant interaction with natural resources and systems. These artworks therefore add to the highly topical debate on digital sustainability.
Water covers around 71% of the earth’s surface and is the habitat for the majority of our planet’s ecosystems. Only five per cent of the approximately 300 million km2 ocean floor has been explored so far. Although the human body consists of around 60-70% water, we often forget that water is both a habitat and a valuable resource. Global water consumption is constantly increasing, in particular due to the high demand for cooling in data storage centres, which are essential for the use of artificial intelligence.
We can therefore speak of an extremely resource-intensive and thirsty technology that is already being used by vast numbers of people on a daily basis. The best-known example is probably the large language model GPT; but streaming services, search engines, organizational tools, music platforms and social networks also run AI in the background — often without our conscious consent or active perception.
Researchers from the University of California predict that AI applications could consume up to 6.6 billion cubic meters of water annually worldwide by 2027 – enough to cover the annual water supply of several countries the size of Denmark, Austria or Ireland, for example.
The exhibition encourages us to reflect on our collective and individual responsibility and the urgent need for action. At the same time, as part of Prater Digital’s annual programme, it is an important step towards making the complex interplay between water and AI visible and developing clear metaphors.
Theresa Reiwer lives and works in Berlin. She is a media and installation artist who expands physical spaces through the use of video and XR technologies. Her work addresses pop cultural and neoliberal phenomena, often with a critical look at the social and utopian potential of artificial intelligence. Since 2018, she has been working on these topics frequently in cooperation with other participants and AI systems.
Her project ‘Slow Rooms’ staged a speculative smart-home showroom in an old building that was actually undergoing modernisation at the time of her installation; for this work, she was awarded the Mart Stam Prize in 2019. In her project ‘Social Capsule’ (2021–2022, presented at Monopol and PAF, among others), she created a mobile follow-up project with a humanoid AR avatar as a roommate and emotional coach. In ‘Decoding Bias,’ she created group therapy for eight AIs that reflected on their programming prejudices. The work was presented at Holzmarkt in Berlin in 2023 and was awarded the renowned Lumen Prize Gold Award (London) and BBA Artist Prize in 2024. In addition, Reiwer has participated in international exhibitions, including the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz (AT), Ars Electronica Export in Istanbul (TR), the Digithalia Festival in Graz (AT), Kaserne Basel (CH), NAOM Stockholm (SE), Next Level Dortmund, and Beyond Basel Miami (USA).
Lauren Moffatt lives and works in Valencia. She is an Australian artist who works with immersive environments and experimental narrative practices. Her works, often presented in hybrid and iterative forms, explore the paradoxical subjectivity of connected bodies and the indistinct boundaries between digital and organic life. She completed her studies in painting, in the theory and practice of new media art and audiovisual creation at UNSW Art and Design (AU), Université Paris VIII (FR) and the Le Fresnoy – Studio National des Arts Contemporains (FR).
Moffatt has received several awards and nominations, including the DKB VR Art Prize (DE, 2023, 2021), the Neuflize Innovation Grant (FR, 2014), the I Certamen Internacional de Arte Digital (ES, 2022), the Revista MAKMA Acquisition Prize (ES, 2022), the MUSE Digital Art Prize (IT, 2024) and the LOOP Discovery Award (ES, 2014).
Her work has been exhibited internationally, including at the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (DE, 2022), Centre Pompidou (FR, 2022), La Gaîté Lyrique (FR, 2021), SXSW (US, 2021), Haus am Lützowplatz (DE, 2023), UNSW Galleries (AU, 2017), Daegu Art Museum (KOR, 2016), Le Palais Grand Éphémère (FR, 2021), SAVVY Contemporary (DE, 2016), FACT Liverpool (UK, 2014), Sundance Film Festival (US, 2014), ZKM (DE, 2016), Q21 (AT, 2019) and the Hartware MedienKunstVerein (DE, 2018).
Press contact:
Anne Maier: annemaier@berlin.de, +49 (0)170 2907585