Welcome to  

R E T R O  2015 - 2025  

An exhibition about The Rise of the Techno Sapiens

“This is an amazing piece. The story of each person is compelling”. B.C. from Canada

“Your work is incredible. You are truly masterly in your art and expression!” L.B.H. from USA

“Truly fascinating” J.T. from USA

“It really makes you think!” J.S. from Canada

(Photographic print - 75 x 40 inches mounted ink print on Silk Bartya paper. Concept, production, writing and photography by Tjalling Halbertsma)

Technology is developing and advancing at such a rapid rate, and at such a large scale, that it is difficult, and perhaps even impossible, to see the big picture, and the impact on humanity. How are technological advancements and artificial intelligence (AI) affecting our human existence, both as individuals and as a species? 

This ‘exhibition’ explores the rise of the Techno sapiens between 2015-2025. In this decade, we begin to see Artificial Intelligence, technology and humanity intertwine, integrate and merge at a level never seen before.

The ‘exhibition’ is set in a museum gallery in the year 2026. It acknowledges the changes that have occurred over the past decade for individuals, society, industry, religion, and humans as a species, through the examination of individuals around a wooden table - emphasizing how technology has integrated in everyday household.

Characters explained

Doug

Doug Seated at the centre of the table is Doug, a blue collar worker. He is a passionate and skilled truck driver, looking back at a 23 year truck driving career. Recently he was fired due to the implantation of artificial intelligence in the autonomous driving sector. His family income drastically changed and he was forced to move house. He was not able to find a new job. He feels lost and has difficulty understanding how this all makes sense.

Brendan

Brendan Brendan lost his arm while shopping in a local shopping mall. A bomb went off and changed his life drastically.  Eight years later, through the rapid development of technology, he was able to get an extremely precise and highly functional robotic prosthetic arm. With electrodes and sensors connected from the prosthetic arm to his nerves, he was able to do many physical activities again because of this technological development. Soon, the medical world will be able to change every part of a body, including a heart and a brain. But the question “what makes us a human being” is still not answered.

Michael

Michael was a brilliant student and excelled in the engineering and business field. After graduating with honours from his university, he started TegnoVysyon. Under his supervision his company, amongst other things, created household security cameras, household robots, and emergency drones for medical deliveries. His value this year, after 5 years of leading TegnoVysyon, is expected to surpass 120 million Canadian Dollars. His employees are mostly robots.

Brittany

Brittany was one of the first biological human experiments to be officially revealed to the world, after being developed behind closed doors. She is the result of CRISPR - a form of genetic editing of an IVF embryo used to eliminate hereditary diseases, and improve beauty and enhance intelligence genes. She was born without a mother’s womb. After an initial worldwide storm of protests, she was officially accepted as a global citizen in 2023. In the media mostly referred to as “America’s Sweetheart”, she lived with anxiety and depression since her teenage years, and committed suicide in 2024. Do parents own their child, and do they have the right to create as they please, or is the child a human being with rights of its own?

Samantha

Samantha, also known as ‘@Samysonice2004’, has nomophobia, the fear of being without her phone. She also has an extreme Internet Addiction Disorder (iAD). She is one of many who lose track of time and boundaries due to an overdose of electronic usage. Between 2015 and 2025, there was a 65% increase of electronic addiction related to phone and internet use. Her symptoms are anxiety, anger, depression, irritability, loneliness and fatigue due to information overload. In 2023 the World Health Organisation declared a global mental health emergency, notably for those aged 10 to 25.

Heritage Jane

For a few million dollars you can choose to leave your digital imprint in a realistic replica. A look-a-like robot with your data, to leave a ‘living’ legacy for your family, friends, fans or for humanity. The input is based on your mind-file, consisting of all your digital memories, photos, quotes, data, and interactions. The technology is based on the assumption that ‘you’ can be recreated with digital data only. Heritage Jane has become the subject of numerous ethical and philosophical discussions, as her existence challenges our understanding of what it means to be human and the value of human consciousness. Heritage Jane represents a growing interest to use technology to go beyond the limits of biology, disease, and fertility and has become a symbol of hope for some, to not only extend life by replacing body parts, but eventually to overcome death.

Xander

Xander (aka savagerer2020) is a Virtual Reality (VR) Operating Gamer. There was a 475% increase in the number of VR Operating Games in the past decade. The biggest increase occurred several months in and after the COVID-19 virus outbreak in 2020, which forced the world population to stay at home for weeks. Xander, has been living within the “walls of VR” since 2020 and has not left his home since 2021. He is part of a generation that has replaced physical social connections with digital connections, online gaming, and the ‘touch of a button consumerism’.  He has a DBB (digital black belt) in iKarate, and has numerous top scores in battle-related VR games. He is terrified of trees, and too scared to go out.

Jordan

Jordan had been struggling to stay focused at school. He fell behind in high school, and year after year struggled to succeed. His mother, a single mom, tried to deal with her son’s anxiety, depression and loss of focus by introducing him to Virtual Education. Although initially successful, Jordan became more and more distracted by what Virtual and Augmented Reality offered. Games, online communities and even porn, became daily obsessions. Gradually everything turned from education to entertainment. In the meantime, he is losing interest in sharing meals or going out. He easily gets angry and has no patience for the slow 3-dimensional reality.

SRP - The Spiritual Robot

Initially starting off in Japan, the SRP or Spiritual Robotic Priest, has grown fast in the last 5 years. Religious organizations who embraced these SRP’s declare that it’s not very different from the books, statues or paintings that conveyed the message of our religion in the past. Their connection to God is through these technological representatives who are neither male nor female. They believe that the robot priest will gain ‘wisdom’ over time.  How big is the step to create an AI God, who will actually know everything about you through data sharing and your digital footprint?

Amelia

Amelia is not at the table, but sits on the side. She is 6. She uses social media to communicate, likes to watch cartoons and nature documentaries. Her father works from home, and he finds social media and online presence rather convenient: it entertains his daughter, she can talk with her friends, and learn about the world. But how will the fast-pacing world look after high school, or even university graduation? Will she have any privacy, or will she live in a world where face-recognition and constant monitoring follow her every step. Will she live her life through the hundreds of  apps on her newest phone, or will she be independent? Will her future be filled with anxieties and addictions, or will she be able to use the newest technology to grow as a conscious human?

We don’t have the answers but with this exhibition we try to evoke a sense of reflection upon what is happening with humanity, and the effect of new technologies on our lives. 

We wonder, is the human species adapting to the rapid changes of the social and practical applications of digital technology? And would the future world be a cold technocratic society ruled by Artificial Intelligence, or one where technology is only in service, used to benefit the wellbeing of nature, humanity and the planet?

Are we witnessing the birth of a new techno-human species?

Do we choose consciousness, or dependency?

Actors : 

• Doug - Reid Gillingham

• Heritage Jane - Lazelle Samuel

• Brendan - Gabriel Gherutchi

• Brittany - Charlotte Daysh

• Xander - Leo Men

• Amelia - Naiya Little_but_fierce_

• Woreshipper 1 - Steve Kasan

• Woreshipper 2 - Nii Wallace-Bruce

• Woreshipper 3 - Jenny Scobie

• Business man - Michael Chan

• Samantha - Jenny Scobie

Crew :

• Costumes & set props - Francesca Callow

• MainTech/ PhaseOne Camera operator/ CaptureOne - Cedric Swaneck

• Make up/hair - Say de Goede

• Studio Light Tech - Prabhjoth Singh

• PhotoShop Robot Servers (2x) - Mani Sing

• Photoshop Robot Priest and Arm - Vladislav Ociacia

• Assistant Light - Dylan van Leeuwen

• Assistant studio - Diane M Green

• Stills and video - Dylan van Leeuwen

• Text edit - Liesbeth Halbertsma/ Shanna Turenne

• fonts & wall signs - Mat Hodder

Set Photo's in Album Studio in Toronto on 23/24 November 2019