This speculative novel, set in a near-future Berlin, highlights the role of artists in prototyping new forms of society. In this fictional world, artists no longer work in a gallery system. Instead they are embedded within startups and companies on multi-year retainers with the express mandate to “disrupt” society. One artist, the boyfriend of the book’s protagonist, develops a club drug that makes people more generous. It’s a magic pill that’s meant to save the world, the ultimate work of socially engaged art. Let’s just say: it doesn’t end quite that rosily.
Wilk, Elvia. Oval. New York: Soft Skull Press, 2019.