Between Conspiracy and Imagination 2024

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This project explores the role of chance in art and folklore within a psychiatric setting. Is chance still relevant to our imagination today? Where do we draw the line between intuition and conspiracy thinking? When do we trust our gut feeling, and when do we verify the facts?

Various cultures have used divination techniques, such as reading tea leaves or casting dice, to predict the future. Today, we recognize patterns in our daily lives, from random posts and likes to interactions on social media. Apophenia — the tendency to perceive connections between unrelated events — plays a crucial role in this. Chance has always helped us make sense of the world around us, but where is the tipping point? When do we get lost in echo chambers, and when does our intuition lead us into tunnel vision?

The project Between Conspiracy and Imagination examines how apophenia influences our imagination and decision-making. It reflects on the relationship between chance, art, and social media, exploring the fine line between creativity and deception. We delve into the history of chance and imagination, from folklore to science and from technology to art. Using techniques such as collective automatic writing and collaborative brainstorming, we actively integrate chance into the creative process. This results in writings and drawings by both myself and the participants.

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