The ASI project titled “Observatorium” took place in 2014 as part of the Manifesta, held in St. Petersburg. The press release informs us that the Observatorium project revolves around the figure of an observer conducting a search for evidence to support a conspiracy theory they’ve created. The nature, goals, and potential scenarios of conspiratorial activity remain unclear to the observer, who is certain only of encountering its manifestations nearly everywhere. The observing subject itself remains unseen, as if dissolving into the atmosphere. We can only speculate that this observer belongs to a multitude of life forms, generated by the adaptation of the “underground man” to digital communication environments. Observatorium is an observation point, a space in which an unknown observer conducted a covert investigation. Similar to the lyrical hero of a poem, this observer allows us to see the world through their eyes, engaging in a dialogue with the unknown on their behalf. In this situation, artists view their task as opening the working space (laboratory? dwelling? museum-home?) of an anonymous researcher to the public, acquainting them with the materials and ambiguous results of their observations. The exhibition featured a considerable number of meticulously crafted diagrams (based on Lacan’s schema), a replica of a chalk-drawn diagram, and a multitude of various artifacts. The museum-apartment of the character known as the “Observer” or “…” was reconstructed. It’s worth noting that ASI rarely works with originals, only copies (of documents, artifacts). The Observer examines the subjectivity of objects around them, suspecting surveillance through electrical outlets. Special exercises were found in their notes, a kind of gymnastics that a special actor replicated at the exhibition. This exercise complex is likely inspired by the esoteric figure Carlos Castaneda of the 1960s-70s. On the second floor, interesting items were also visible, including a foil helmet, known from various conspiracy theories, and a plaster copy of a hastily removed cloak with a stuck sleeve. A series of photographs explored the theme of observation, gazing back at us. In these photos, the Observer marked suspicious objects with circles on random shots where certain signs of secret surveillance were detected. The Observatorium project emerged as an exploration of ways to instrumentalize images and construct factualness in global communication networks. The focus of the artists is the formation of reality through mass production of images, interpretation techniques, and observation. In the borderland between documentary and spectacle, the characteristic tension of cognitive capitalism manifests itself – a tension between the ever-expanding data arrays of the world and the possibilities of familiar patterns that shape our perception in everyday life. Various “conspiracy theories” spread, offering seemingly straightforward answers to the challenges of complex and changing information flows. Naturally, this reaction serves as an immune response to the overwhelming complexity and acceleration of information flows and the overall pace of social order. Conspiracy theories emerge where individuals, in an effort to simplify and explain, attempt to pervert and distort these turbulent currents of reality in the name of self-preservation. The ultimate goal of this is to transform chaos into something somewhat logical, comprehensible, and controllable by the subject. As a side effect, adherence to and belief in conspiracy theories provides tranquility, homeostasis, and equilibrium to the subject, what Sigmund Freud termed the “pleasure principle.” In this sense, the conspiratorial perspective seeks to identify the outlines of hidden but accessible-to-understanding power structures within the whirlpool of communication, transforming the energy of anticipation into a form that illuminates the everyday experience of the conspiracist with a reflection of the totality of the imagined world order. Conspiracy theories possess a dual nature, serving as both mass products and elements of subjective reality. Even in the most ordinary words, images, and objects that fill our world, they allow us to perceive traces of the actions of forces on a global and sometimes universal scale. Only one small line separates conspiracy theory from artistic practice – the presumption of the secrets of the universe being revealed. Describing para-fictional experiments, American researcher Carrie Lambert-Beatty from Harvard University acknowledges that they serve an important function by instilling a habit of critical doubt. Experiencing doubt prepares us for a more critical perception and consumption of information, “helping us become better citizens.” However, in the ocean of information, the problem may lie not so much in remembering the necessity of adopting a skeptical position, as in determining whether we’ve been skeptical enough. “When can we be fully confident that something is sufficiently truthful?”
