Contemporary society is facing an era of uncertainty, where the foundation of stable reality is being shaken by rapid changes in politics, the environment, and technology. The previously solid systems of belief are crumbling, and the boundaries betwee...
Contemporary society is facing an era of uncertainty, where the foundation of stable reality is being shaken by rapid changes in politics, the environment, and technology. The previously solid systems of belief are crumbling, and the boundaries between truth and falsehood, as well as reality and virtuality, are becoming increasingly blurred. These conditions penetrate deeply into individual lives, engendering vague fears and inducing structuralized social anxiety. In particular, the media-based online environment propagates post-truth discourses where emotion and belief take precedence over facts, rendering crises of disaster and war into a mere backdrop of daily life. In an environment where the situation of reality seems to be overwhelmed by virtual narratives, we are forced to ask fundamental questions about what to believe and how to perceive the world.
In this context, this study inquires into the potential role of art. It asks how art, in the face of unstable reality, can go beyond mere representation or critique to actively intervene in our cognitive systems. With this problem in mind, this thesis explores fiction not as a means of escapism, but as an alternative tool to actively engage with reality and reconstruct the existing order. Therefore, the core topic of this research is how fiction, as an artistic practice, can reveal the generative structure of anxiety dominating society and, furthermore, create fissures in conventional notions to enable alternative forms of thinking.
To explore this point, the researcher has developed an artistic practice applying fictionalized methods. This is an art-based strategy that borrows the appearance or form of reality to intentionally destabilize the distinction between fact and fiction. In particular, the form of 'parafiction,' which mixes the paths of the audience's belief and doubt through falsehoods that appear factual, serves as the central axis of the work. It aims not merely to deceive the viewer but to question what allows something to acquire the status of truth, thereby revealing the socio-institutional mechanisms through which trust is constructed.
This thesis provides an in-depth analysis of the researcher's works conducted based on this critical consciousness. Above all, it delves into social structures maintained by belief through various forms such as mockumentaries, virtual scenarios, and reconstructed archives. By casting real individuals to explore the boundaries between their testimonies and assigned roles, or by using actual places as stages for rehearsal, the works capture the theatricality inherent in reality. Furthermore, by inserting fictional elements into forms possessing institutional authority, such as official documents or manuals, the study questions the essence of the authority we have uncritically accepted.
Such works do not offer clear answers or conclusions; instead, they induce the audience to remain in a state of suspended judgment, prompting them to raise questions themselves. This allows the audience to become aware of the hidden side of a seemingly solid reality and reveals the operating modes of power intervening in invisible realms. This process compels us to reflect on the fact that the emotion of anxiety is not merely a personal psychological state but is produced as a social condition and managed by technologies of governance. Ultimately, the role of the fictionalization strategy within the work is to propose a 'redistribution of the sensible,' inviting those living in the uncertain present to perceive and sense the world differently.
This study finds its significance in going beyond an examination of an individual artist's body of work to propose a valid method for contemporary art to relate to social anxiety. In a situation where fact and fiction are intricately intertwined, the function that fiction performs has become more important than ever. This thesis aims to serve as a catalyst for critical discourse on art as a new passage to transcend the powerlessness of reality and envision the future.