Stan Douglas, *ISDN* (2022). Still from two-channel video installation © Stan Douglas, courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

Watching the capabilities of artists and their ability to harness contemporary powers is genuinely remarkable. A simple command or prompt of artificial intelligence software can recreate a stunning artistic landscape. Where does this place us in the validity of contemporary art? Should we embrace AI to our advantage, which could hinder our abilities as creators? Stan Douglas embraces technology to innovate his work and places himself firmly on the pro-tech side, arguing that art - the institution - is changing and progressing all around us. His multimedia exhibit, uses images and videos to create a phenomenally subversive artistic viewing experience. It’s triumphant, to say the least, which is fitting as it’s the inaugural exhibition at the Los Angeles location of the David Zwirner Gallery. Douglas’ work opens on May 23, and the series is scheduled to run until July 29.

Installation View, Stan Douglass: 2011 ≠ 1848, Magazzini del Sale No. 5, Biennale Arte, Venice, 2022. Photo: Jack Helms. © Stan Douglas, courtesy of the artist, the National Gallery of Canada, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

Since the 1980s, Douglas has been experimenting with the art creation process, creating films, photographs, and even theatrical productions. He is placing himself above the conventional definition of an “artist,” by doing so, he is creating memorable experiences for viewers that resonate deep within the psyche. A fruit painting can leave you mesmerized with beauty, but a Douglas exhibition will make you think, ponder, and analyze your very being. And, in the digital age, Douglas is proving to be one of the most important artists in the pro-tech realm, as he has “an ongoing inquiry into technology’s role in image-making, and how those mediations infiltrate and shape collective memory.”

@ Stan Douglas. *New York City, 1 October 2011,* 2021. Digital chromogenic print mounted on Dibond aluminum. © Stan Douglas, courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

The exhibition transports us back to 2011 when earth-shattering events like Occupy Wall Street and the Arab Spring left lasting marks on the geopolitical landscape. Those who were there remember it fondly, but even those new to the subject are left speechless by the brevity of his work. Douglas has a profound ability to highlight the critical minutiae of a given situation, and here the slightest body movement gives way to intense emotional strife.

@ Stan Douglas. *Vancouver, 15 June 2011,* 2021. Digital chromogenic print mounted on Dibond aluminum © Stan Douglas, courtesy of the artist, Victoria Miro, and David Zwirner

The video places the viewer right in the middle of a call-and-response jam unfolding literally over two continents, where MCs, set in 2011 London and Cairo, trade freestyle verses transmitted over ISDN, or Integrated Service Digital Network. It’s a cool circumnavigating of the artistic medium at first glance, but it also proves to be one of the most profound experiences you’ll ever have at any art exhibition. Like many raw MCs, these individuals bear their souls to you; their language is authentic and poignant. They’re rapping about real-world events instead of material things and excess. Issues of class relations and political uprising come to the forefront of our minds during this exhibition, and through the different presented languages (Arabic, English, etc.), we see that the human struggle is worldwide. Stan Douglas takes the human condition and distills it perfectly through this exhibition.