The annual exhibition “Continuum ’26” opened in Diriyah and will run through Nov. 7, showcasing works by 17 emerging artists from 12 countries who participated in the Diriyah Art Futures program over the past year. The artists were mentored by Louis-Philippe Demers and Rick Treweek as they developed pieces around four central themes: memory as a living process; systems of power and optimization; the body, perception, and presence; and repetition, rhythm, and collective experience.

The exhibition explores memory through personal, collective, environmental, and cultural lenses, while examining technology as an extension of human decisions and control. It also focuses on embodiment and immersive sensory environments, as well as automated systems, labor, and human endurance.

Saudi artist Njo0d Albawardi’s work engages with the relationship between humans and automation. Her piece challenges the common perception of machines as detached, clinical objects by highlighting that every aspect of technological design, from microchips to software, results from deliberate human choices.

From the United Kingdom, the artist duo Hannah Cobb and Declan Colquitt, known collectively as Y7, presented an AI-generated video essay titled “The Lazarus Mechanism: How Your Cells Cheat Death.” Their project abandoned traditional notions of artistic authorship by delegating creative decisions entirely to artificial intelligence. The work investigates whether new artistic methods can emerge from AI processes that prioritize capturing human attention and content circulation over aesthetic or symbolic meaning.

Yemeni artist Ezzat Shdad contributed a film-based spatial installation named “Does the Sea Die?” set in Aden. His work addresses themes of collective memory, urban decline, and postcolonial narratives through the intimate portrayal of a man carrying the last trace of his mother. The piece evokes grief and the tension between holding on and letting go, using atmosphere, texture, and pauses rather than direct narrative.

Mexican artist Gabriela Reyes, who works under the name Cero Tres, offered a light-and-sound installation titled “Avoid Nil.” This work builds on the concept from visual programming where “avoid nil” replaces unprocessable nil values with zero, representing absence while enabling presence. The installation positions emptiness as potential rather than void, using audiovisual stimuli to reveal intangible phenomena.

“Continuum ’26” presents a diverse, thought-provoking exploration of contemporary art practices that engage with technology, memory, embodiment, and collective experience in innovative ways.