I have discovered Susanne Treister at Frieze 2005 and immediately fell in love with her series of conceptual waterlolours and drawings based on the NATO Supply Classification system. Who on earth would have known that an organisaiton such as this geo-political military aliance would have a number code for literally everything on this planet, the stuff above is labelled as no 3805 - Earth moving and excavating equipment. I wasn't primarily impressed by her style of painting (even though its good), but by the simple fact how unusual her drive and talent is to challenge us, the average citizen, to question the world we live in; it makes you think what the hell is out there.
This winter, the artist has a multi-site exhibition going called Hexen 2039: 'New military occult technologies for psychological warfare - a Rosalind Brodsky research programme. Yes, it sounds nuts. But it's brilliant! Not only is she taking on an alter ego - in the future - but the whole thing is a fantastic 'phantasm'. The complex drawings and diagrammes (a bit like those of Mark Lombardi) are based on combining interesting and often unknown facts about subjects such as the Metro Goldwyn Mayer film company, Radio Towers, The London Science Museum, Mussorgsky's music Night on Bald Mountain, Rasputin, as well as urban myths about Freemasonry, the MI6 and The German Walpurgisnacht where witches (hexen) fly on brooms on the 1st of May.
Or in her words, "This work uncovers or constructs links between conspiracy theories, occult groups, Chernobyl, witchcraft, the US film industry, British Intelligence agencies, Soviet brainwashing, behaviour control experiments of the US Army and recent practices of its Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (PSYOP), in light of alarming new research in contemporary neuroscience..."
Most of the 'interventions' have been closed by now, but the matter of Hexen 2039 - mind reading and mind control - is discussed at the Dana Centre on 13 February 2007
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