Barbican Immersive, the touring exhibition arm of London’s iconic cultural hub, The Barbican and a leading developer of immersive exhibitions, has announced details of its upcoming immersive exhibition, In Other Worlds, the first UK solo show by artist, director and BAFTA-nominated producer Liam Young.
The exhibition will debut at the Barbican Centre in London from 21 May to 6 September 2026, as part of the Barbican’s Summer season. It will then tour internationally.
Film still from Planet City (2021) by Liam Young. Image courtesy of the artist
In an approach described as 'radically hopeful', Young uses a variety of films, costumes, props, movie miniature models, comics, tapestries, and soundscapes to inspire ideas about what the future might hold as we consider the opportunities and challenges presented by the complexity of our modern world.
"The future doesn't rush over us like water. It's not something that happens to us. It's an act of creation," says Young. "It's something we make, moment by moment, together."
Imagined futures
Young’s work exists in the spaces between design, fiction and futures, offering a glimpse of the future through speculative worlds and visionary films.
Film still from The Great Endeavour (2023) by Liam Young. Image courtesy of the artist
From wild dreams to unsettling truths, these works of fiction serve as tools for navigating the environmental crises we collectively face today.
In this timely exhibition, the audience will immerse themselves in a series of imagined futures for our planet, grounded in real technologies and climate-based possibilities.
In Other Worlds will feature the world premiere of World Machine (2026), a film commissioned by Young for the Barbican.
Combining real-life footage and CGI, World Machine envisages an AI future in which a planetary-scale supercomputer is created, and the entire surface of the Earth is used for circuits of power and calculation.
Through this narrative, Young and his collaborators imagine how we might approach the production of our technologies differently.
By speculating on enormous wind and solar farms powering AI data centres alongside rewilded landscapes, the film invites the audience to enhance their understanding of the delicate balance between technological progress and environmental stewardship.
A tribute to limitless human ambition, World Machine also speaks of the fragile possibility of starting again and nurturing both technology and nature.
Film still from Planet City (2021) by Liam Young. Image courtesy of the artist.
'Compelling and urgent issues'
Other moving image highlights will include:
- Planet City (2021) is an expansive film where the world’s population comes together into a single mega-city, surrounded by a wild, regenerating Earth.
- The Great Endeavour (2023), which debuted at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale. This work visualises the design and immense scale of construction needed to remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
- After the End (2024), co-authored with Aboriginal actor and activist Natasha Wanganeen, is a new creation story for Australia that imagines the end of fossil fuels and the reclaiming of ancestral land in a time-lapse spanning 50,000 years.
Visitors are further transported into Young's world through excerpts from a graphic novel, displayed in each section of the exhibition, and audio character narratives by leading collaborators from film, TV, science fiction and graphic novels.
Film still from After the End (2024) by Liam Young. Image courtesy of the artist
Luke Kemp, head of creative programming, Barbican Immersive, says: "It is hugely exciting to be showing the first solo exhibition of Liam Young in the UK.
"It feels that now is the time to once again look for new stories, imagine different futures and create the worlds that we want to exist, rather than the ones that are being created for us.
"In Other Worlds opens up possibilities for what the future could hold, brought to life through fantastic environments and films, with unique stories and narratives from leading writers and creatives."
Devyani Saltzman, director for arts and participation at the Barbican, says: "As part of our Summer season, this exhibition continues the Barbican’s ambition to explore the most compelling and urgent issues of our times.
"Liam Young’s practice reminds us that envisioning alternative futures is not just speculative but essential to understanding today’s world with imagination, rigour and hope."
In Other Worlds is presented by Barbican Immersive, a programming strand focused on contemporary culture, emerging technology and digital creativity.
Earlier this year, Barbican Immersive celebrated the successful tours of three of its shows, AI: More Than Human, Asian Comics: Evolution of an Art Form, and Our Time on Earth across North America.
