Shine: Wishful Fantasies and Visions of the Future in Contemporary Art

Shine revels in the happy sheen, presenting wishful fantasies and visions of the future by 18 contemporary artists whose work offers different gleams of optimism. Reflecting the desire to transcend the conflicts of life, to give an extra sheen to matter-of-fact reality are artists like Paul Cox, Martin Creed, Christian Jankowski, Liza Lou, Tracey Moffatt, Walter De Maria, Fiona Tan and Fred Tomaselli. Their work glows with a zest for life and a belief in the meaningfulness of life. But beyond the visual, Shine is also a written quest to discover the ideals of the twenty-first century. Wilma Sütö's Dreaming with Eyes Open discusses the works of art included; Bas Heijne presents the case for a revolution in our way of looking, for a gaze that first of all manifests itself as receptive; and philosopher Michel Onfray seeks to unravel the question: where is happiness?