Sign (2023) Painting by Pavel Krasheninin

It so happened that I directly and harshly encountered a reality I simply didn't believe in before. Irrefutable evidence, photos and videos, court decisions, scientific research - in general, they don't prove anything. In my paradigm, if substantial evidence is presented, we can discuss our interpretation of the facts, but not the existence of the facts themselves. I was wrong.
Recently, I personally have come face to face with the fact that evidence is simply disregarded in favor of the narrative held by the opposing side. It's as if we are discussing not a video recording, but a passage from the Bible. In general, everything becomes a matter of faith, rather than proof. Evidence is only accepted within a particular community that shares a certain agreement (for example, the scientific community or environmental activist groups). And there's nothing we can do about it. Absolutely nothing. It's not a question of intelligence, education, or political views.
It seems that the only way to hear someone from a different information bubble is to expand our own bubble to the extent that it engulfs the neighboring ones. However, it would be arrogant and extremely naive to say, "Let's all become incredibly intelligent and engage in self-reflection." Besides, that will never solve the problem.
I believe that post-truth has always existed, even from the time when people were just learning to speak. Any folk epic, historical text presented as a narrative, religious texts and dogmas, legends, and so on - what are they, if not post-truth by their nature?
I think post-truth didn't arise in the conditions of global informatization, social media, and transparency. In these conditions, small fragments of ordinary truth began to emerge. Opposition became possible, and truth finally started to diverge. But how long will it last and is it a good thing, remain questions. Perhaps it's just part of a collective illusion?
Based on this, perhaps the concept of pre-truth would be more appropriate?
In my art, I'm currently exploring the phenomenon of post-truth and information bubbles. What is it? Is it an artificial phenomenon or an evolutionary aspect of consciousness? Are there any rules or exceptions? How can it be used, and how is it already being used? What should we do about it, and is it even necessary to do anything? Is there hope for a nonviolent bypass to establish communication between different information bubbles? Or maybe we don't need to do that? After all, we managed to live somehow before, and we continue to live now.

• Nationality: RUSSIA
• Date of birth : 1982
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Russian Contemporary Artists