If you had the chance, would you choose to live forever? It’s a theoretical questions that people have long pondered, but recently, a select few have taken it from the realms of science fiction to a genuine pursuit. Billionaire Bryan Johnson made the headlines by spending $2 million dollars a year to stop the aging process, whilst scientists debate whether the first person to live to be 150 years old has been born.
Humanity’s increasing fascination with longevity is the inspiration behind Ever After, the latest edition of Scorpius Encounters festival in Mykonos and Bodrum. It presents installations from renowned names, including Lumen Prize0winners, who use generative code, AI, Data and sound to build works that grow over time, respond to environments and evolve with input from various audiences.
For media artist Philipp Frank, for example, the coastline is a canvas. At dusk, he illuminates the shore with projections – demonstrating how transformational the passage of time can be. Maja Petrić’s large-scale light sculpture, meanwhile, is in a constant state of flux, updating and responding to temperature and wind data from the Aegean. Sasha Stiles presents an infinite poem that rewrites itself in real time, reflecting on human versus artificial consciousness, whilst Operator explores the nervous system, reframing the body as the most sophisticated technology to ever exist. Final, Krista Kim opens a meditative chamber. this is a cutting-edge programme that dissolves boundaries between organic and synthetic, inviting us to reconsider what it means to be alive – and why we strive to endure beyond the now.
Encounters: Ever After is at Scorpios, Bodrum & Mykonos until 28 August: scorpios.com/encounters
Words: Emma Jacob
Image Credits:
1. Philipp Frank, Nature Light Art, Courtesy of the Artist and HOFA.
2. Maja Petrić, Specimens of Time, Mykonos, 2025, Generative Light Sculpture. Courtesy of the Artist & HOFA.
3. Philipp Frank, Nature Light Art, Courtesy of the Artist and HOFA.
