DARKNET explorer

Mapping ‘dark places’ is a guiding principle in the artistic praxis of Belgian artist Frederik De Wilde, which leads us thematically to universal human drives such as the attraction of the unknown and the search for niches and subcultures, new images, working methods, tools and resources, experiences and impulses.

The subcutaneous fascination with the underworld is an archaic and deeply rooted fascination of man. The Darknet is a particularly interesting place because fact and fiction, good and evil intertwine in total obscurity, ambiguity and sometimes illegality.

Darknet is a kind of shadowy zone, a spectral landscape, a ‘dark’ market of sometimes illegal practices, whistleblowers, ‘shelters and ruins’ on the internet that are very difficult to access because you need specific software. Most access points and information is encrypted. Entering Darknet is not without risks.

Darknet Explorer tries to blur fact and fiction by mixing and remixing found footage with constructed images to increasingly blur the thin line between truth and lie.

We invite you to the virtual exhibition to become part of a mysterious closed network of hypnotic surreal yet disturbing images that exist just beneath the surface of our orderly and safe society, and seem to be spreading like a ‘virus’. Enter the post-truth society.