We live in an age of rampant conspiracy theories, AI deepfakes and widespread online propaganda, a so-called ‹post-truth world› in which the boundaries between information and disinformation, fact and fiction seem increasingly difficult to draw. All the more reason why the demand for authenticity and reliable facts has never seemed more urgent, not only in journalism and science, but also in the arts, which have traditionally been seen as the domain of fiction and fantasy. Over the last two decades, methods of collecting, verifying, documenting and investigating evidence have become central in contemporary artistic practice, leading to a boom in what has been called ‹forensic aesthetics›.
In this seminar, we will approach key aspects of forensic aesthetics by analyzing artistic practices such as those of Forensic Architecture or Trevor Paglen, as well as current forms of online journalism and open-source intelligence. How do these visual investigations reconstruct past events from scattered traces and disparate data, and what means of representation do they use to make their case and persuade their audience? How can the exhibition space become a site where forensic evidence is produced and made visible? What does it mean when the boundaries between art, journalism and activism become blurred? And what happens when the aesthetics of forensics are misused and pseudo-forensic investigations become a weapon of propaganda and disinformation?