CHICAGO — Do you want to be on the front lines of the futuristic war against oppressive government forces?
Friday at the Motor Row Gallery, 2345 S. Michigan Ave., is probably your best chance.
The gallery on Friday will debut Chicago artist Bryan Sperry's latest project, a collection of 27 future-robot soldier sculptures that are humanity's last chance for survival in a show he calls "Warriors of the Apocalypse."
The "cyborg-like creatures" each have names, backgrounds and special skills they can deploy in the future war, Sperry said. Sperry's show includes a detailed back story about the world the cyborgs inhabit: The human-robot hybrids act as humanity's last chance to defeat the "dark lords" controlling the new world order.
Like much of the best science fiction, one of Sperry's primary themes is that of technology and its impact on humanity. Sperry said he is specifically interested in "transhumanism," a movement that seeks to inject humans with technology so that we can become smarter and more efficient.
"I don't know if I embrace or abhor technology," Sperry said. "There's a great use for it, but governments will also use it against us."
Joe Ward discusses what to expect at Friday's opening:
In his story, the robots are deployed to help save humanity before evolution makes the species extinct.
"They are here to save the last population of humans before we evolve into cyborgs," Sperry said.
The sci-fi story line serves a larger political point Sperry is trying to make, he said, about the oppressive forces controlling government and society.
"An artist's work should reflect whatever he is going through," he said. "We are at a pivotal time. I've been doing a lot of research on who controls the money, and he who controls the money controls the world. We are subjugated to the oligarch's demands."
Friday is the exhibit's opening night, and will feature songs, actors and performance pieces. The exhibit, which has been in the works for four years, will be at the Motor Row Gallery for three weeks after its opening night.
"It's going to be a spectacle for the eyes but also will be educational, so we can fight the global banks and fascist governments," Sperry said.
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