Guest exhibition of MA students from AKV St. Joost.
Exhibited artists are: Martijn van Mierlo (NL), Anne Lucassen (NL), Lavinia Xausa (IT), Lou Muuse (NL), Katarina Jazbec (SI), Ruben Üvez (NL), Sheng Wen Lo (TW), Matija Pekic (HR), Nikos Kostopoulos (GR), Corine Aalvanger (NL).
In the media culture of our digital age, the distinction between ‘real’ and ‘unreal’ is becoming increasingly diffuse. This blurring manifests itself in many ways, which implies that distinguishing between concepts such as authenticity/artificiality, truth/falsity, and credibility/implausibility can be interpreted differently according to the context of their use. At a socio-political level, there is an increasing entanglement of ‘true’ and ‘false’, which is understood as an undesirable side effect of large-scale globalisation and digitisation on society. At a cultural level, however, the deliberate exchange of ‘fact’ and ‘fiction’ can be sought to provide a critical and pro-active response to this type of adverse influences on society. Whether desired or not, both antipodes impact on a crucial debate of our epoch: how can we manage this abundant and invasive flow of information? Lens-based media, such as photography and film, are ideally suited for understanding imaging processes in society because of the unique link between the creator (supposedly subjective) and their lens (ostensibly objective). Using documentary as its departure point for critical reflection, the research this postgraduate degree requires takes such processes to high altitudes. And this is what this year’s student cohort has convincingly taken into account, with surprisingly diverse outcomes. From projects about self-generated verification models, apps, and virtual reality documentaries, or addressing the reliability of personal memories and historical surrender in cinematic and performative settings, to the active use of literary fiction to better understand the malleability of reality.