Published on 29 MAR 2025

21 FEB until 4 MAY 2025
Kraftwerk Berlin
Public Opening: Thursday, 20 FEB 2025, 6 pm
Media Preview: Thursday, 20 FEB 2025, 9:30 am – 11:30 am
Commissioned by LAS Art Foundation and co-commissioned by OGR Torino

LAS Art Foundation presents Laure Prouvost WE FELT A STAR DYING, a newly commissioned art installation at Kraftwerk Berlin that explores quantum phenomena and their sensitivity to cosmic and planetary forces.

2025 marks a century since quantum physics became established and today its applications are predicted to enact a paradigm shift in our world. WE FELT A STAR DYING follows Prouvost’s rare access to a quantum computer and is born out of two years of research and development.

The project grows out of the artist’s conversations with philosopher Tobias Rees and scientist Hartmut Neven. The collaboration allowed Laure Prouvost to access a quantum computer, and to experiment with a new, specially-developed AI model using data recorded from quantum compu tations.

WE FELT A STAR DYING is a multi-sensory and immersive environment, including video and sound developed with a quantum computer, as well scent and sculptural elements tuned to quantum phenomena. The project merges Prouvost’s playful and intuitive approach with the counterintuitive logic of quantum physics and represents a new line of inquiry in the artist’s oeuvre. Presented over 3,500 square metres (37,600 square feet) of the former power station Kraftwerk Berlin, the commission offers a dynamic reflection on technological development today.

Laure Prouvost’s new commission launches LAS Art Foundation’s Sensing
Quantum programme, which includes a Sound Lab series, further installations, a public symposium and publication, and runs through to 2026. A dedicated educational programme is supported by Volkswagen Group. The Sound Lab explores the creative application of quantum technologies, with the first commission Kara-Lis Coverdale: Primary Action at a Distance, presented concurrently to WE FELT A STAR DYING, at Kraftwerk Berlin from 21 February to 4 May.

Bettina Kames, CEO, LAS Art Foundation says
“Laure Prouvost is not only one of the most respected artists of our time but also offers a playful and intuitive entry point to the complex world of quantum physics. Artificial intelligence has already become established in our society and quantum computing is expected to follow in the coming years. As quantum technology is due to enact profound change in our world, LAS believes it is vital and urgent to think through its implications with artists. With her visionary approach, Laure Prouvost is expanding perspectives and opening up the subject to many for the first time.”

Hartmut Neven, scientist, says
“Many of the beautiful patterns we see in nature emerge from quantum processes. Can such patterns be replicated using only classical physics? If the answer is no, augmenting generative AI with quantum computing could prove essential. Laure Prouvost’s art explores this fascinating possibility.”

Tobias Rees, philosopher, says
“For me, quantum processes are a philosophical event. Meaning, they break with some of the most basic forms of experiencing and understanding reality that have defined the modern period. If things were either natural or technical; either alive or non-living; either human or machine; either being or thing, the beauty of quantum processes is that they are discontinuous with these binaries. Quantum releases us from how we understood the world. To me, the significance of Laure Prouvost’s work is that it identifies and embraces the poetic power of this release — and makes it experiential.”