Panel Show

Enigmatic new artworks by Thomas Demand are an exclusive teaser for BMW’s soon-to-be-unveiled Vision M Next concept car

- Tony Chambers

Thomas Demand likes cars. And he really likes car designers. The German artist has an acute appreciation of the unique challenges they face and the role they play in shaping the future of our society. ‘If you are a car designer, you have to predict the future,’ explains Demand, who has been living in LA for the last nine years, a city built around auto-dependency. ‘This is an amazing task when you realise they are designing at least three years ahead of any official launch; then that car has to be around and relevant for at least another ten years. So they are thinking up to 15 years ahead. Considering how fast things change today, I find this mesmerising.’

Demand’s insight is informed by a ten-year friendship with BMW Group’s head of design, Adrian van Hooydonk. The pair first met in 2005 at the artist’s Berlin studio; then, in 2009, Demand invited van Hooydonk to lecture during his show at the Neue Nationalgalerie. ‘Adrian spoke about how cities will change in relation to the introduction of electric cars. In fact, he talked about the future in general and how he sees it, but not as a corporate person. We hardly ever talk about corporate issues.’