The term Suspension of Disbelief unites two truths: On the one hand the realization that a story has been made up, and on the other the knowledge that ignoring exactly that will make the story more appealing. Melle Nieling (1992) is interested in both perspectives. In his practice, the artist therefore takes eager advantage of his audience’s gullibility. On the opening night of an earlier edition of Art Rotterdam, for instance, Nieling drove up to the venue in a delivery van filled with shipping crates apparently containing paintings that had to be delivered at the very last moment. Nieling was able to get past security and subsequently mingle with the guests without having a ticket. For this and other performances, the artist finds inspiration in so-called confidence men: professional swindlers who manage to gain people’s trust by anticipating on their fear or greed. The virtual world is an ideal playground for this practice. While the physical reality is constrained by all kinds of limitations, the digital simulation is, obviously, a representation of something else, although with very tangible effects: “People who get likes on photographs of messages will probably think they are actually liked by others.” Nieling is interested in studying this specific effect of the dreamed world, as the things we believe in and attach value to determine who we are.
Text: Jorne Vriens
Translation from Dutch to English: Marie Louise Schoondergang