What is Truth in a Post-Truth World?

What is Truth? Could this question be the most pressing thing we all face right now? With viral content lashing past our eyes moment to moment, deciding what to believe is the ‘truth’ has become almost impossible. Its urgency has escalated, not just due to advancements in artificial intelligence, which can convincingly replicate the appearance and speech of trusted individuals, but also due to broader societal shifts eroding faith in established sources of authority and knowledge. Do we really know who we can trust anymore? When truth becomes elusive in the information we receive, it undermines the very fabric of our cultural beliefs and institutions.

The echo chambers of online discourse, doomscrolling and the ever-looming spectre of algorithmic manipulation mean that we are living in a world of surveillance. Orwellian terms such as ‘Thought Police’ and ‘fake news’ may come to mind when you think of how contemporary media now affects how we think.

2024 begins a six-month investigation, ‘What is Truth?’ at the Sainsbury Centre, Norwich at the UEA in the pursuit of truth, featuring award-winning exhibitions and installations. The dynamic program comprises of four interconnected exhibitions: “In Event of Moon Disaster,” “Liquid Gender,” “Jeffrey Gibson,” and “The Camera Never Lies.” These exhibitions unite some of the globe’s foremost artists and creative minds. Varied in content and mediums, but questioning one thing; what is truth?

In the rapidly developing age of social media and technology, who’s to say that we are not the journalists ourselves? And if so, is that dangerous? With the rise social media platforms, everyone has a voice. And deciphering reality is becoming harder and harder.

However, this season at the Sainsbury Centre aims to shed light on this cryptic concept, starting with Liquid Gender.

Liquid Gender

The notion of truth as a fluid and subjective concept is firstly explored in “Liquid Gender.”, which is being shown from 17th February to 4th August.

This exhibition invites audiences to engage in a dialogue about the evolving nature of identity in a rapidly changing world, offering perspectives from internationally acclaimed artists such as Rashaad Newsome, Martine Gutierrez and Leilah Babirye.

Within the realm of the “Liquid Gender” exhibition, Rashaad Newsome’s artistic endeavours emerge as a captivating fusion of disparate influences, intertwining the realms of advertising, the internet, art history, and Black and Queer culture. Through a multifaceted, mixed-media practice, Newsome navigates the delicate balance between social engagement, abstraction, and intersectionality.

For Newsome, collage serves as more than just a creative technique; it becomes a conceptual tool for constructing a new cultural narrative and taking ownership of a minority background.

Other queer, Afro-indigenous artists’ work will also be shown,

And the idea of using imagery as a commentary surrounding truth continues in the next exhibition of the What is Truth? season, which focuses on photography as an avenue for mass manipulation, showcasing images from infamous political events.

The Camera Never Lies: Challenging Images through The Incite Project

Set to reevaluate the most iconic images of the past century, this exhibition delves deep into the intricate web of media manipulation and surveillance that pervades our society.

Curated by Harriet Logan and Tristan Lund, over eighty photographic works and draws from The Incite Project will be featured; a collection dedicated to supporting contemporary practitioners in photojournalism and documentary photography.

Featuring works by acclaimed photographers such as Don McCullin and Robert Capa, the curated collection prompts a sobering reflection on the role of photography in shaping historical memory and perpetuating societal myths. This exhibition exposes the seedy underbelly of photojournalism, revealing the extent to which images can be manipulated to suit a particular narrative.

For example, the ‘Tank Man’ at Tiananmen Square famously shows a student who protested against the massacres of students’ freedom. There seems now no trace of this student. Who was he? Where did he end up? The worlds news cameras pointed at this unknown young man, yet no one had an ending to share.

McCullin’s penetrating lens has fearlessly captured conflicts and exposed the plight of the marginalised, earning him both admiration and fear from governments. When he was denied a press pass to cover the Falklands War, rumours suggested it was either a mistake or a deliberate attempt by the government to prevent him from exposing the harsh reality through his lens.

As the exhibition unfolds, it delves into the complexities of 21st-century photography, exploring themes of government surveillance, domestic violence, and the impact of conflict on civilian populations, each photograph serving as a sobering reminder of the fragility of truth in an age of deception.

Through the vision of artists such as Edmund Clark, Simon Norfolk, Trevor Paglen and Max Pinckers, the exhibition sheds light on the marginalised and overlooked facets of society, whilst also underscoring the urgent need for transparency and accountability in media representation. You, as a consumer, as an audience, are challenged to confront your own complicity in perpetuating the vicious cycle of media manipulation.

Meditating on the relationship between the camera and reality, this idea is particularly interesting when considering the modern culture of self-documentation we find ourselves in.

In Event of a Moon Disaster

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” 

– Neil Armstrong

16% of the British public believe that the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing never even happened. In the exhibition ‘Event of a Moon Disaster’ allows us to envision this reality, eerily reconstructed as something which almost feels like a memory that happened distantly.

Now more than ever, the public is in a state of deep mistrust towards the media. Diving deep into conspiracy and misinformation, Burgund and Panetta recreate a 1960’s living room in which a parallel universe takes place.

Through the innovative use of AI technology, artists Halsey Burgund and Francesca Panetta reconstruct President Nixon’s hypothetical speech in the event of a catastrophic failure during the Apollo 11 moon landing. The artists use ‘deepfaking’ (an artificial intelligence technique through which one person’s likeness can be convincingly replaced with that of another).

Originally, two films of the president were made in 1969 in case the trip failed; here the artists manipulated the successful newscast into a fateful one via the original script and deep fake.

Reality 2.0: Deepfakes and the Creation of Uncertainty and then ‘How to Spot a Deepfake’ informs readers that seeing is (not always) believing. The mere idea of AI-synthesized media is already making people stop believing that real things are real.

“By using the most advanced techniques available, creating a video using both synthetic visuals and synthetic audio (a “complete deepfake”), we aim to show where this technology is heading – and what some of the key
consequences might be.”

Halsey Burgund and Francesca Panetta

The newspaper (named The Informer) is a fascinating addition to the space, delving into the ethics of this technology and providing information on what to watch out for. In many ways, deepfakes could be yet another avenue for mass propaganda.

This piece of work doesn’t necessarily say ‘the moon landing was fake’; it offers a more nuanced take on the nature of media depiction in a context we can all relate to, an event and conspiracy that is universal.

The work won an Emmy Award for Interactive Media Documentary in 2021.

Jeffrey Gibson

Illuminating the rich history of his Native American background is indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson through his new site-specific installation.

By incorporating elements of indigenous artisanal handcrafted Native American beadwork and traditional craftsmanship, Gibson’s art becomes a powerful testament to the resilience and vitality of Indigenous communities in the face of historical erasure and cultural appropriation; whilst exposing and offering a scathing critique of colonialism.

Characterised by a cacophony of vibrant colours and textures, Gibson’s work challenges the very foundations of Western hegemony, daring audiences to question the legitimacy of the institutions that seek to define us. His range encompasses murals, paintings, textiles, and historical artefacts, skillfully intermingling them with textual elements such as lyrics, poetry, and his own prose.

These compositions are enriched with nods to abstraction, fashion, and elements of popular culture. Western media has a habit of ignoring vital foundations of art history, which Gibson aims to dissect in this dynamic exploration of appropriation. Elements of resistance

Accompanying these immersive experiences is the release of “What is Truth?”—a comprehensive publication that delves into the intricacies of truth across art history, photography, and museums.

Edited by Tania Moore and published by the Sainsbury Centre, this anthology features insightful essays and engaging conversations with leading academics, curators, and artists.

It serves as an indispensable companion piece to the museum’s exploration of truth and authenticity, offering readers a deeper understanding of the complexities of navigating truth in a post-truth world. Amidst this climate of uncertainty, the role of art as a catalyst for social change has never been more vital.

Has it always been that people who consume the most news generally have the most skewed perceptions of reality? because of what paper they may have read (was it left or right leaning) or is our world far harder to navigate truths with so much information so readily available?

A universal ticket can be bought to What Is Truth?, allowing access to all of the exhibitions featured. Drawing from many different influences and the voices of divergent artists, the Sainsbury Centre allows for a complete and introspective dissection of all that we thought was reality in this season long showcase.

Liquid Gender 17th February – 4th August

The Camera Never Lies: Challenging Images through The Incite Project 18th May – 20th October

In Event of a Moon Disaster 17th February – 4th August

Jeffrey Gibson 24th February – 4th August

If you enjoyed reading What Is Truth in a Post-Truth World?, why not read How To Improve Everyday Life in Material Ways

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