Anna Püschel
Encyclopaedia of the Uncertain, 2019
Never in the history of mankind has information been more easily accessible than today. Yet, we are increasingly confronted with more lies and misinformation. ‘The Encyclopaedia of the Uncertain’ connects a landscape of terms that map the topic of ‘doubt’ in order to approach the problematic definition of ‘truth’. Instead of offering a logical overview in alphabetical order, the book reads as a train of thoughts—one word leading to the other—following the author’s personal associations on a search for authenticity. The sources cited are intentionally broad, from Wikipedia to conspiracy websites, from LEGO manuals to Russian novelists, from Satanist blogs to French poetry.
Throughout the encyclopaedia, passages of the author’s own diaries also reveal a personal uncertainty. ‘The Encyclopaedia of the Uncertain’ confronts the reader with a multitude of truths. How do we navigate our increasingly complex world and what do we actually really know in a post-truth 2020?
Anna Püschel (1986, D/FR) studied Documentary Photography at AKV St. Joost in Breda and received her Master of Fine Arts from LUCA School of Arts in Ghent, Belgium. Her work explores notions of knowledge, perception and reality. Moving between writing, traditional analogue photography and image distortion techniques, Anna’s art reflects a search for orientation. Her complex and multi-layered works often reveal their message at second glance. Through constantly questioning her own position within any given framework, she brings up universal topics connected to human interaction and -identity.