Un-Spectacled Society
Jung Heungsup (artist)
We are living in an era of image overload. Various forms of images flood our daily lives through new media, overwhelming our senses. Among them, the explosive growth of digital images is particularly striking. As high-tech images advance, traditional low-tech images are rapidly becoming obsolete, fossilized by the relentless march of technology. The terms "high technology" and "low technology" reflect a historical-progressive perspective deeply embedded in modern society. However, today's high-tech images are not fundamentally different from conventional ones. They remain two-dimensional entities creating the illusion of three-dimensional space. What distinguishes high-tech images is their formidable capacity for reproduction and dissemination. This is the very "simultaneity" of new media images that demands our attention. In other words, simulation in the digital age is less about the "linguistic inversion" of images detached from their original context and more about a "physical inversion" dictated by technology-driven image production.
From representation of reality to virtual reality, and from virtual reality to augmented reality—where, then, is today’s technology-driven imagery heading? The global phenomenon of Pokémon Go offers a glimpse into this trajectory. Developed by Nintendo using digital augmented reality (AR) technology, Pokémon Go is a smartphone-based MMORPG that requires players to move through real-world locations while capturing virtual Pokémon using their phone cameras. Digital AR technology, as the name suggests, enhances reality by overlaying additional digital information onto real-world images. For instance, when visiting an unfamiliar place or encountering an unknown object, users can capture it with their smartphone cameras, prompting real-time informational overlays on the screen.
However, does Pokémon Go truly utilize digital AR technology in the conventional sense? The answer is no. Strictly speaking, the technology used in Pokémon Go does not qualify as digital AR. The images and digital content within the game bear no direct relation to the real-world space captured by the phone camera. For players, physical reality merely serves as a backdrop for hunting virtual Pokémon, and real-world information is irrelevant, if not an outright distraction. In Pokémon Go, reality is merely an accessory to the virtual. "Pokémon Go!"—the virtual takes the lead, while reality follows in its wake. Look at the sheer number of Pokémon we are expected to hunt—it is astronomical.
As the game’s popularity soars, its unintended consequences also become increasingly apparent. Given that the game requires players to remain fixated on their small screens while navigating large physical spaces, many users have fallen victim to accidents, including falls and traffic collisions. More alarmingly, the game has been exploited for criminal activity, as perpetrators lure players to specific locations where rare Pokémon appear, only to rob or harm them. The issue is more serious than it seems.
Historian Yuval Noah Harari, in Sapiens, offers a compelling perspective on power in the modern era. He suggests that while past regimes maintained control by "concealing" critical information, today’s powers sustain their authority by "flooding" the public with vast amounts of misinformation. This insight is particularly relevant to the current political climate, where "fake news" has become a strategic tool for manipulating public perception. Certain political forces manufacture and disseminate massive amounts of false news through social media and online platforms to obscure inconvenient truths. Though these fabricated reports are easily identifiable as misinformation, their sheer volume delays and disrupts the process of uncovering the real facts—just as the overwhelming number of adorable Pokémon disrupts our everyday perception of reality.
In an era of information excess, what is the most crucial skill for modern individuals? It is not the ability to absorb information but the ability to filter it effectively. In a society where false information masquerades as truth and floods our consciousness, our most valuable asset is not omniscience but discernment—the ability to selectively ignore unnecessary and misleading data. Perhaps this explains the recent rise of specialized programs designed to detect and eliminate fake news. The growing dominance of internet search engine companies like Google and Naver in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is no coincidence. In an age where virtual data exerts immense physical influence, effective information filtering is imperative.
Thus, modern individuals must assert not only their "right to see" but also their "right not to see." In today’s information-saturated world, the most urgent necessity is not the ability to see everything but the capacity to actively reject certain images and information. This includes resisting the temptation to consume content that may seem compelling but ultimately serves no constructive purpose. The ability to choose not to engage is an act of agency, reminiscent of Bartleby in Herman Melville’s novella, who famously declares, "I would prefer not to." His words do not express passive refusal but an active, deliberate choice.
If there is one way to eradicate all Pokémon from existence, it is by reducing the number of concurrent users on Nintendo’s servers to zero. The act of not doing something can, paradoxically, become a powerful force. This principle—choosing not to act as a means of action—is one of the most vital survival strategies for navigating the information age.
With this paradoxical affirmation, I present the curatorial intent of my fourth solo exhibition, Un-Spectacled Society. Today, virtual information images with physical expansion capabilities are continuously flooding into our everyday lives. The potential of the information society lies not in the expansion of information absorption but in the enhancement of information filtering functions. Looking deeper, I believe that the success of this enhancement depends on how much a society recognizes an individual’s right to social refusal. After all, it is the individual—the only tangible entity within an abstract discourse—who possesses the sole ability to halt the unchecked expansion of fictional narratives into physical reality.